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NORTHERN TOUR. 



A 

NORTHERN TOUR: 



I 



BEIBTG 



Ji GUIDE 



TO 



SARATOGA, LAKE GEORGE, NIAGARA, 
CANADA, BOSTON, &c. &c. 



THROUGH 



THE STATES OF PENNSYLVANIA, NEW- JERSEY, 

NEW-YORK, VERMONT, NEW-HAMPSHIRE, 

MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE-ISLAND, 

AND CONNECTICUT 5 

£IffBRACIIfa \TS ACCOUNT OF THE 

Canaky Colkgesj Public InstiiutionSf Natural Curiosities^ 
and interesting , Objects therein. 




PHILADELPHIA: 
H. C. CAREY & I. LEA, 



1825. 



EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, to wit: 

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the thirtieth day of 

(L. S.) May, in the forty-ninth year of the Independence of the 

United States of America, A. D. 1325, H. C. Carey & I. Lea^ 

of the said District, have deposited in this Office the Title of a Book, the 

right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, to wit:— 

"A Northern Tour: being a Guide to Saratoga, Lake George, Niagara^ 
" Canada, Boston, Stc. &c. through the States of Pennsylvania, New-Jer- 
" sey, New-York,Verraont, New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, 
•' and Connecticut ; embracing an Account of the Canals, Colleges, Public 
'* Institutions, Natural Curiosities, and interesting Objects therein." 

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, intituled, 
"An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of 
maps, charts, and books, to the authoi's and proprietors of such copies, 
dunng the times therein mentioned;" And also to the Act, entitled, "An 
Act supplementary to an Act, entitled, < An Act for the encouragement 
of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the au- 
thors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned,' 
and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, 
and etching historical and other prints." 

D. CALDWELL, Clerk of the 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



Lydia R. Bailey, Printer. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



It is the object of the little volume, which is here pre- 
^Sented to the traveller, to afford what has hitherto been 
wanting-, in an excursion through the northern part of the 
Union — a work to which he may conveniently refer for in- 
formation, on those subjects that will naturally attract his 
attention, during- a tour. Tables have been prepared andl 
inserted, which it is believed accurately mention the differ- 
ent routes, and the distances between the different places 
on those routes 5 they have been formed from the best 
authorities on such subjects. Attention has been paid, in 
the accounts given of the various public works and institu- 
tions, to collect all the information relative to them from 
sources that may be relied on ; but every thing so rapidly 
changes and improves in the countries through which we 
pass, that perhaps some things may have been inadvertently 
omitted. The mineralogy and geological character of the 
different districts have been attended to, and it is believed 
that they will be found as correct as can be expected. The 
most accurate historical accounts have been introduced, of 
events worthy of remembrance, that have occurred on any 
of the spots near which our course may lie ; and where the 
official documents relative to them were not to be obtained, 
the historians of the greatest accuracy and celebrity have 
been referred to. 



IV ABVEllTISEMBKT. 

In pawing through the state of New-York, a traveller will 
find a vast mass of information in the M'^orks of Mr. Spafford, 
a gentleman who has collected, with extraordinary diligence 
and accuracy, an immense number of useful facts, relative at 
once to its history, antiquities, institutions, geography, and 
commerce. The travels of Mr. Darby through the same 
state abound, like his other works, with a great deal of valu- 
able information and many ingenious speculations. Mr. Sil- 
liman's Tour from Hartford to Quebec is in the hands of 
every one ; equally delightful from its profound science, its 
glowing descriptions, and its liberal sentiments. All that is 
interesting with regard to New-England, is combined in the 
volumes of Dr. Dwight, a scholar and a poet, who has de- 
scribed her history with the elegance and research of the 
one, and delineated her native beauties with the ardent per- 
ceptions and expressive language of the other. 

To these writers we have been indebted for much valu- 
able matter ; and to them we would refer such travellers as 
seek for more extended information than the size and charac- 
ter of this little volume would permit us to introduce. 

Fhiladelphiay June 1, 1825. 



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35 



_JL_. 



^- .-^;*S* 







CONTENTS. 



Route from Philabeuphia to New-York - - » 3 

New- York to Saratoga - . . . 14 

Excursion to Glenn's FallSt and 

Lake George ------ 67 

Albany to the Fails of Niagara 79 

Falls of Niagara to Quebec - - 162 

Montreal to Albany 212 

Burlington to Boston - - - - 236 

Albany to Boston ------ 246 

Excursion to Nahant - - - - 262 

Boston to Nkw-York . . = - - 264 



CONTENTS. 



louTE FROM Philadelphia to New-Yohk - - - 3 

New-Yokk to Saratoga . - - . 14 

Excursion to Glenn^s Falls, and 

Lake George --...> 6?" 

--™™-=— - Albany to the Falls of Niagara 79 

■ Falls of Niagara to Quebec - - 162 

■■ — Montreal to Albany - - - . . 212 

burlingtoit to bostojt - . - . 236 

Albany to Boston ------ 246 

Excursion to Nahant - - - - 262 

Boston to New-York - . = . - 264 



NORTHERN TOUR. 



IN the gratification of a reasonable and useful curiosity, 
it has of late years become a custom with a large portion of 
the citizens of the United States, to pass the summer and au- 
tumnal months in a tour through the northern section of the 
Union. The idea which so long prevailed, of making Eu- 
ropean countries the only field for observation and amuse- 
ment, has passed away ; and while a few are led across the 
Atlantic by a more ardent curiosity, the great majority of 
our countiymen are content to gratify it amid congenial 
manners and institutions in their native land. 

It is true, the nations of Europe present scenes and objects 
which are unknown to us ? fancy may there indulge itself 
amid mouldering ruins, dignified by all that age and classic 
glory can impart ; philosophy may view the varied effects of 
successive revolutions, in every age and in eveiy climate — of 
customs, which have blended the rudeness and ignorance of 
past ages with the splendour and refinement of modern 
times — of governments, in every form except that alone 
which we have learned to prize — of civilization, here carried 
to the highest point of luxury, there depressed as low as hu- 
man nature can endure— of commerce, in one age emiching 
whole nations, which in another are little better than a bar- 
ren waste — of ambition and national pride, destroying the 
prosperity of extended regions, from the mere desire of ag- 
grandizement, or the support of unfounded pretensions 5 in a 
word, the European traveller beholds around him a vast 
field, in which improvement has gradually worked its way, 
A 



2 NOETHEIlir TOUH. 

but he sees, on every side, the marks of ancient ignorance, 
useless and "absurd habits aT)d custonris, and the remnants of 
fom)cr barbarism blended witlj tlie tyranny which is not ye' 
extinct. 

Surely our own country presents a fairer and a nobler 
scene ; one on wliich fancy may indulge in brighter visions, 
on whicli philoHopliy may reflect with more justice and de- 
light. It presents to us the desert and the wilderness start- 
ing into improvement and civilization ; smiling villages ris- 
ing into towns, ;uid towns fast passing into nch and lordly 
cities ; ti)cy are inhabited h»y a manly and intelligent race, 
"who have received, almost unaltered, from Iheir earliest fore- 
fathers, the freest and noblest institutions, wliich they in 
their turn are handing down, uninjured, to the countless 
generations which are- to succeed them. Nature here seems 
to have exerted more than her ordinary energies, and to have 
formed her works on a nobler scale — every region teems 
witli tlie richest prodvictions of agriculture — commerce smiles 
upon and enriches every sliore — and conscious and proud of 
the high spirit of her people, America offers to otlier nations 
her example, but seeks not to aggrandize herself by inter- 
fering in their views, or pursuing the delusions of a false am- 
bition. 

With such a coimtry open to our investigation, and that 
country our home^ there arc few travellci's who will not pre- 
fer it to more distant lands ; and such it is the object of this 
little volume to accompany in some of their excursions, to 
point out to them those scenes whicli are worthy of their no- 
tice, to revive those recollections on which it is useful and 
pleasant to dwell, and to afiord them at once a memorandum 
wid a guide. 



ROUTE FROM PHILADELPHIA TO NEW-YOBK. 



PHILADELPHIA TO NEW-YORK. 



Direct Route. 

M. M. 
Philadelphia. 
Cross P'rankfoi'd Creek to Frankford - - 5 5 

Holmcsbuig- 5 10 

Cross Pennepack Creek 

Poquasin Creek 2 12 

Neshaminey Creek 4 16 

Bristol 4 20 

Morrisville 10 30 

Cross Delaware River to Trenton - - - 1 31 

Lawrenceville 6 37 

Princeton 4 41 

King-ston, on Millstone River 2 43 

New-Brunswick 14 57 

Cross Raritan River 

Rah way on Rahway River 12 6^ 

Elizabeth town 5 74* 

Newark 6 80 

Cross Passaic River 

Hackensack River 4 84 

Jersey City (PaulusHook) 5 89 

Cross Hudson River to 

New-York 2 91 



Deviations. 

1. Philadelphia to Trenton by water. 

Burlington, N. J. 18 

Bristol, P. 1 19 

Bordentown, N. J. 9 28 

Trenton^ N.J 5 33 



BOUTE FKOM PHILADELPHIA TO KEW-YORJC. 

2. Bordentown to New-York, 

M. M. 

Cranberry 15 

Spotteswood 10 25 

South Amboy 8 33 

Cross to North Amboy 2 35 

New-York (by steam-boat) 22 57 

3. New-Brunswickf by Staten Island^ to New-York. 

Woodbridg-e 10 

Staten Island Sound, New Ferry - - - - 4 14 

Castleton 7 21 

Lazaretto 122 

New-York (by steam-boat) 5 27 

4. By ElizabethtowH Point to New-York. 

Elizabethtown to 

Elizabethtown Point -- - 2 

iVei(;-PbrA; (by steam-boat) - - - - - - 10 1,2 



Philadelphia to Trentoit, hy watery 33 miles. 

Since the establishment of steam boats, this has become 
the usual route, and the road is not often selected by travel- 
lers, especially in summer. The passag-e by water is indeed 
highly agi-e cable; the views are more beautiful, and the river 
presents a finer prospect above Philadelphia than it does 
lower down. Soon after leaving the city, the shores gradually 
contract, and offer bolder features than the flat banks which 
present themselves to the eye of the traveller, on either side, 
in his passage from Baltimore. The shores, but especially that 
of Pennsylvania, are adorned by many smiling villages, and 
the country-seats of gentlemen of Philadelphia. At eighteen 
miles from that city is Burlingtorit on the Jersey shore, 



BRISTOL — BORDENTOWN". 5 

which, if its size and population are not adequate to its cor- 
porate rank — that of a city, may, from its fine green bank, 
which gradually declines to the margin of the river, its neat 
houses, its smiling aspect, and salubrious air, well merit the 
reputation it enjoys, as one of the most charming retreats 
in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. 

On the opposite bank of the Delaware, and at about the 
distance of a mile from Burlington, is Bristol, one of the pretti- 
est country towns in America. Its population does not exceed 
one thousand inhabitants; but the houses are in general good, 
and those fronting on the river are built with great taste ; 
their green lawns descending to its very margin, decked with 
shrubs, weeping willows and other ornamental trees, are ex- 
ceedingly picturesque ; and the house of Mr. Craig gives a 
character of Attic beauty and exquisite simplicity to the 
whole scene. It is formed on the model of a Grecian tem- 
ple, and is indeed, though with some variation in the propor- 
tions, a copy of the beautiful temple of the Muses on the 
Ihssus, one of the most enchanting remnants of Athenian 
taste. 

Leaving Bristol, the passage up the river becomes perhaps 
still more interesting, Thougii the banks are no longer so 
thickly gemmed with country-seats, yet they begin to pre- 
sent in themselves something of a stronger and more pictu- 
resque character, occasionally rising, especially on the Jersey 
shore, into abrupt cliffs, many of wliich are adorned with no- 
ble forest trees. A liveliness is imparted to the scene by the 
sloops which are constantly met, on their way between Tren- 
ton and Philadelphia, and the intermediate villages. The 
Durham boats too are seen stealing slowly and silently along 
the shores ; the men engaged in poling them occasionally 
endeavouring to relieve the tediousness of their employment 
hy their songs, whose moiiotony would usually render them 
uninteresting, but which, harmonizing with the placid still- 
ness of the water over which they are passing, and their slow 
and silent progress along the shore, makes them not uninter-» 
esting. 

Nine miles above Bristol, we reach Bordeniown, a village 
on the Jersey shore. It is built on a lofty cliff, rising abrupt- 
ly from the river, and an excellent road has been cut tlirough 
it for a new line of stages, established on tliis route to New- 
York. The road from Bordentown to South Amboy is a new 

a2 



h BORDENTOWN. j 

one, and presents little variety; it has, however, the advantage 
of being the shortest distance by land between New-York and 
Philadelphia. Bordentown is a very pretty village, contain- 
ing about one hundred dwelling houses, in general very well 
built ; and, like BurUngton and Bristol, is a favourite retreat 
of the Philadelphians in summer. There is a cu'cumstance, 
however, connected with its history, which will render it 
pecuharly interesting to the traveller — it was the residence 
of the late Francis Hopkinson, a name dear to the scholar as 
long as wit and humour shall charm, and still dearer to the||| 
patriot, as long as ardent devotion to his country's good shall^' 
claim his admiration and love. An anecdote is mentioned 
with regard to him, which it is believed, has never yet been 
pubhshed, and which shows that his merits were not known 
to his own countrymen alone. During the revolutionaiy war, 
a party of Hessians invaded Bordentown so suddenly, that Mr. 
Hopkinson's family had barely time to escape, leaving their 
house and all it contained a prey to the invaders. After the 
retreat of the British from Philadelphia in 1778, a volume was 
brought to Mr. Hopkinson, which a Hessian officer had left 
behind him at his lodgings ; it was a book that had belonged 
to his library at Bordentown, and on the blank pag-e the 
officer had written in German, that he had taken the volume 
from the hbrary of Mr. Hopkinson, who was a violent and 
uncompromising rebel ; but that, from the books and the phi- 
losophical apparatus in the room, he was certainly a man of 
great learning and science. 

That this httle village was formerly the abode of one, who 
had so nobly distinguished himself in the defence and ser- 
vice of our country, must ever impart to it a charm in the eye 
of a traveller ; yet perhaps, his sensibilities will not be less 
awakened, when he beholds it now the residence of one who 
has sought its peaceful retirement after having been driven 
from the palaces of Europe — when he reflects that the brother 
of a mighty Emperor, who ruled nearly the whole of Eu- 
rope, and himself the sovereign of a great nation, is now an 
humble citizen of New-Jersey, known perhaps more by his 
charities, and the benevolence of his heart, than by the high 
station he so lately held. 

Foint JBreeze, the residence of the Count de Survilliers 
(Joseph Buonaparte,) is a fine estate of about five hundred 
acres, extending along Crosswick's creek, a stream which 



FBANKFORD — HOLMESBURG. f 

enters the Delaware at Bordentown. The grounds are laid 
out with great taste, and afford in some deg-ree a specimen 
of a Eui'opean park. The mansion of the Count does not 
present, either in its situation or exterior appearance, any 
thing" to be greatly adnured, and is certainly far inferior in 
both respects to the old house, which was burned down 
a few years since ; and which, placed directly on the Point, 
had the advantage of a noble view. The interior arrange- 
ments are, however, exceedingly commodious ; and the 
splendid collection of paintings which adorns the rooms, is a 
treasure that no other part of the continent can boast, and 
will afford a traveller of taste the highest gratification. 

From Bordentown, a passage of five miles brings the tra- 
veller to Trenton, the capital of the state of New-Jersey, and 
the termination of steam-boat navigation on the Delaware. 



Phiiadelphia to Trentoit, hy land, 31 miles. 

Leaving Philadelphia by the great eastern road, the first 
village is that of Frankfordy about five miles from the city. 
As this stage may be considered as an envu'on of Philadel- 
phia, it has all the character belonging to it; the road is a fine 
turnpike, and the country is level, with gentle undulations. 
Frankford is a very pretty village, consisting of one main 
street, about a third of a mile in length ; the houses are built 
of stone, or board, neatly painted, and smTounded with httle 
gardens ; and the road being wide, is planted on each side 
with trees in front of the houses. The country around 
Frankford is agreeable, and forms from the numerous villas 
in the neighbom-hood, one of the most cheerful residences 
in the vicinity of the city. It contains about one hundred 
houses ; and, though it has no staple manufacture, yet the 
numerous shops, stores and taverns, give it a busy appear- 
ance. 

From Frankford, the road proceeds in a north-eastern di- 
rection five miles to Holmesburg, a village on the Pennepack 
creek. On the right, as the country recedes from the eye, it 
gradually becomes more and more level for about a mile to 
Sie river Delaware, along whose margin it descends into mea- 



8 BRISTOL — ^MORRISVILLE — TRENTON. 

dows and marshy ground; it is beautifully variegated with 
woods, villas and occasional glimpses of the river, though the 
road is not sufficiently elevated to afford any very extensive 
or commanding views of it. 

Two miles from Holmesburg the road crosses the Poquasin 
creek, four miles farther the Neshaminey, and in four more 
we reach Bristol on the Delaware. The soil is in general 
loamy, mixed with gravel, and a substratum of soft micaceous 
granite; the aspect of the country is pleasing, the reach of* . 
prospect often extensive, and presenting good farms, th^l 
houses neat and frequently elegant, and the whole bespeak- 
ing a character of comfort and wealth in the owners; indeed 
they are generally either respectable country gentlemen, or 
citizens who have retired from Philadelphia to become farmers. 

Passing Bristol, the road proceeds for a few miles along 
the shore of the river, which it then leaves, and takes a di- 
rect course to Morrisville^ ten miles from Bristol, and situated 
on the bank of the Delaware opposite to Trenton. This 
town takes its name from Mr. Robert Morris, and exhibits an 
unfortunate scheme of a man whose mind was perhaps as 
great as that of any one of his age, but whose designs proved 
ultimately too vast for that age to realize. Taking advantage 
of the rapids in the Delaware, Mr. Morris contemplated the 
erection of most extensive manufacturing establishments, to 
accommodate which this town was laid out; but the undertak- 
ing was not suited to the existing state of the countiy, was 
soon neglected, and eventually tumbled into ruin. One of 
the houses, a handsome building intended for the residence of 
Mr. Morris, was afterwards occupied by the celebrated French 
general Moreau. From Morrisville the road crosses the Dela- 
ware on a substantial wooden bridge, erected in the year 
1805, to Trenton, 



Trenton to New-York, 60 miles. 

Trenton^ the capital of New-Jersey, is a neat country town, 
containing about four thousand inhabitants, though incorpo- 
rated as a city. The situation of the town is open and plea- 
sant, and its elevation above the river affords a pleasing 
prospect up it, which is closed by high hills, but extends over 
the fine countiy of Pennsylvania on the western shore. 



TRENTON — PRINCETOSr. » 

But Trenton is chiefly remai-kable as the scene of Gene- 
ral Washington's victory over the British at Christmas, 1776; 
an event, which, among- his many great acts, is perhaps the 
best proof of his fortitude and resources; which retrieved 
the sinking fortunes of his country, and raised the gloomy 
despondence of the Americans, then almost on the verge of 
despair. The continental army, defeated in several battles, 
had been driven from the Jerseys across the Delaware by 
the British; and broken, disheartened, and without resource, 
as they were, could oppose no obstacle to the successful in- 
vasion of the middle states. The genius of Washington how- 
ever was equal to the occasion, and by the acts of one deci- 
sive night, he robbed them of the fruits of a whole campaign, 
imparted new hope and vigour to oui' cause, and opened the 
way to eventual triumph. Taking advantage of the festivity 
of the season, when the British were carousing over the fallen 
fortunes of their adversaries, he crossed the Delaware, though 
full of ice, in the middle of a stormy night, attacked the 
enemy early in the morning, and after a severe conflict com- 
pelled them to surrender at discretion. It is said, that as the 
battle was about to commence, the General had placed him- 
self very far in advance; observing this, his aides-de-camp 
begged him to retire where he would be less exposed to 
danger, and equally able to superintend and direct the mo- 
tions of his troops; but appearing to have staked every thing 
on the event of this conflict, he calmly replied to them^ 
*' Gentlemen, from this point I only go forwai-d." 

Leaving Trenton, the road continues through a country 
of a light sandy soil, and not very fertile; though it is well 
settled with good farms. At six miles we reach Lawrencevilky 
where the soil changes to a dark earth of light texture. As we 
approach Princeton^ four miles farther, tlie country becomes 
high and open, affording many noble prospects; to the south 
and east, it stretches in a flat sandy plain to the shores of the 
ocean, along which are seen rising the liighlands of the Ne- 
vesink hills, giving a rich termination to the viev/. To the 
north, the country becomes more and more hilly, till it termi- 
nates in a distant blue ridge. Princeton itself commands a fine 
prospect, but has httle besides the college to recommend it; 
except tliis, the town consists chiefly of taverns, stores, and 
a few good dwelling-houses, straggling for nearly half a mile 
along the road side. The College is a large plain stone build- 



10 rRINCETOSr— XEW-BRrUSWICK. 

ing-, about one hundred and eighty feet long-, fifty-four deep, 
and four stories hig-h, without a soHtary architectural orna- 
ment. As a literary institution, however, Nassau-Hall holds 
quite a distinguished rank among those of the United States. 
It was incorporated in 1746, though it was not permanently 
established at Princeton until 1757. The number of students 
is about one hundred^ and it is resorted to, not only by young 
men from New-Jersey, but from most of the other states. 
It has a handsome library and museum, with a fine collection 
of philosophical instruments; and within its walls have been 
educated some of the most distinguished citizens of the coun- 
try. The battle of Princeton was fought in the town on the 
3d of January, 1777. It was a continuation of the plan which 
General Washington had so nobly commenced at Trenton, 
and was attended with equal success. He is reported on this 
occasion to have exerted himself with great personal bravery, 
and to have been several times exposed to the most immi- 
nent danger. 

Two imles from Princeton brings the traveller to Kingston^ 
a village on the MiJlstone river; and fourteen miles farther, to 
New-Brunswick. For the first few miles, the soil is barren and 
stony ; but as we proceed it improves, and on approaching 
the latter place the country presents a more agreeable aspect, 
and is settled with numerous farm-houses. ' 

New-Brunswick is a pleasant town, or rather city, for it has 
that corporate rank, situated on the banks of the Raritan, a 
river which is navigable for vessels of eighty tons, and which 
is here passed by a fine bridge of twelve arches, and four 
hundred and forty feet long. It contains a population of 
nearly four thousand persons. There are many good houses, 
especially on the main street, which is broad, and is the resi- 
dence of a number of genteel families. The town is very old, 
and was originally founded by the Dutch, whose descendants 
still compose a large propoi'tion of its inhabitants. The col- 
lege, founded by the Dutch clergy, though now no more than 
a grammar school, is a handsome and spacious edifice. 

On crossing the bridge from New-Brunswick, the prospect 
on the Raritan, both above and below, is very beautiful; that 
above embracing an extensive sweep, with elevated banks, 
fringed with wood, and crowned by a finely cultivated coun- 
try. The view down the river is not so extensive, but the 



ELIZABETHTOWJf — NEWAHK. 11 

heiglit and colour of the banks, and the noble woods which 
overhang them, are finely contrasted. 

For a few miles, the country is rather barren, and a reddish 
soil prevails ; but where tlie road to Amhoy crosses it, the 
view on the right is very fine, extending over the vale of the 
Raritan to its mouth, and embracing the two towns of Am- 
boy, situated on their jutting promontories, the bay of the 
Raritan, the fine plains of Staten Island, and the blue liigh- 
lands of the Nevesink faintly rising in the distance. 

At Rahway, twelve miles from New-Brunswick, we cross 
the river of the same name, and in five miles farther arrive 
at Elizabethtoiun, whose spires are seen as we approach it, 
rising among the trees. It is a neat town of four thousand 
inhabitants, with a market and several churches, sun^ounded 
by small but well-cultivated farms and villas, many of which 
are quite handsome. In antiquity it exceeds every other 
town in the state, having been settled as early as 1664. 

The steam-boat route here leaves the main road, and passes 
through a beautiful country, covered with neat farms and 
handsome houses, two miles, to Elizabethtown-Point, whence 
the passage to New-York by water is only ten miles. 
- From EHzabethtown to Newark, the next stage, is only six 
miles, through a weU cultivated district. Newark, the largest 
and most flourishing town in the state, with a population of 
seven thousand inhabitants, is situated on the west bank of 
the Passaic river, six or seven miles above its mouth by the 
course of the river, though only two or three in a direct line. 
To a traveller from the South, this town, wliich is certainly 
one of the prettiest in the United States, will appear ex- 
tremely interesting, as it is the first instance of that beauty, 
blended with attention to pubhc convenience, and to ex- 
treme neatness, which becomes more common as he advances 
into the eastern states. The main street is two hundred feet 
wide, and forms a noble esplanade, along which are many 
well-built houses 5 there are five churches, some of them 
adorned with handsome spires, and several other public 
buildings 5 and the trade of the place is flourishing and ex- 
tensive. 

On the Passaic river, fourteen miles north of Newark, are 
the celebrated falls, and the village of Patterson, The road 
passes over a reddish sandy soil, and presents a scene of 
great interest and beauty. Three miles above Newark is the 




t2 PATTERSOSr. 

village of Belleville;* and five miles farther that of Eguanouk. 
Patterson is a busy town, containing* about two thousand 
four hundred inhabitants, and is celebrated for its extensive 
manufacturing establishments ; a great facility for the forma- 
tion of which is afforded by the noble water-power of the 
Passaic. There are no less than ten cotton factories with 
fifteen thousand spindles, two large duck manufactories, a 
rolling and slitting mill, a nail manufactory, and a paper mill. 
But what perhaps renders this spot even still more attractive 
to the traveller, than the sight of a busy manufacturing town, 
is one of those majestic water-falls which the rivers of our 
country so often present. At this spot the Passaic de- 
scends into the level country from a ridge of hills, which, 
extending far across New-Jersey to the Hudson, appears to 
be the first of many lines of highlands which follow in suc- 
cession to the north. A walk of a quarter of an hour along 
the eastern bank of the river, brings the traveller to the rock 
over which it tumbles into a deep cleft or chasm a perpendicU' 
lar depth of seventy-two feet. The hills around rise into lofty- 
cliffs crowned with forests ; and the white sheet of water 
rushing over the precipice and boihng beneath, tlie dark hue 
of the rocks continually wet with spray, the mist for ever ris- 
ing and forming a continued rainbow, all contrasted with the 
placid surface of the stream but a few yards below, and the 
quiet and solemn grandeur of the woods around, present a 
scene of truly romantic beauty. 

From Patterson the traveller may proceed to New-York, 
without returning to Newark, by an interesting ride of twenty 
miles, through the towns of HackensacJc, Durham and Hohoken. 

Returning to the main route, the road from Newai'k to the 
Hackensack river, four miles, passes nearly the whole distance 
on a noble causeway over a body of flat salt marshes, which 
extend from Newark Bay along the river Hackensack several 
miles into the country. A part of these marshes has formerly 
been a cedar swamp ; the road is formed by cutting a ditch 
on each side so as to drain a space suflicientiy wide on which 
logs of cedar are laid across close togetlier and over these 
earth is placed to the depth of two or three feet, foi-ming a 

* Near this village is a copper mine, which was worked during the re- 
volutionary war, but is now neglected. The ruins of the edifices attach- 
ed to it are visible ; and the mineralogist will be rewarded for half aa 
hour's research. It is known by the name of Schuyler's Mine. 



II 



PAULUS HOOK. 1:1 

hard and even surface, while the line of trees on each side af- 
fords a grateful shade from the summer heat. At the end of 
the causeway the river Hackensack is passed on a bridge 
one thousand feet in length ; it is a deep stream, soon falling 
into Newark Bay, and navigable for several miles into the 
country. 

From this river the road passes for five miles over a rocky 
ridge, and through the salt marshes which border the Hudson, 
to Jersey City^ or Paulus Hook ; immediately opposite to 
which, on the eastern bank of the river, here two miles wide, 
stands the city of New- York. 



14 



ROUTE rnoM 



NEW-YORK TO SARATOGA. 



New-Yobk to Albany, by water. 

M. M. 

New-York to New-Jersey State line - - 21 

Stony Point - 18 39 

West Point 12 51 

Newburg" 8 59 

Poughkeepsie 14 73 

King"ston 15 88 

Catskill .... - 21 109 

Hudson 3 112 

Albany 28 140 



New-York to Albany, along the Eastern Bank of iht 
Hudson JRiver. 

New-York to King-sbridg-e 14 

Phillipsburg, on Sawmill river, - - - - 5 19 

Tarry town -.-..----. 10 29 

Sing-sing' -.--- 6 35 

Cross Croton river - 3 38 

Croton 1 39 

Verplank's Point --.-..-- 5 44 

Peekskill 2 46 

Fishkill, on Fishkill creek, 20 66 

Cross Napping" creek, ...... 5 71 

Poughkeepsie ---.--.-- 9 80 

Hyde Park 6 86 

Staatsburg - 5 91 

Rhinebeck 6 97 

Clermont 13 110 

Jauseas creek 1 111 

Hudson ... 12 123 

ColumbianviUe, on Kinderhook creek, - 6 129 



3fEW-T0RK TO SARATOGA. 15 

M. M. 

Kinderhook Landing' 5 134 

Greenbiish - - 18 152 

Cross Hudson river to Albany - - - - 1 153 



New-York to Albasty, along" the Western Bank of the 
Hudson River. 

New-York to Hoboken 2 

New-Durham 3 5 

Hackinsack 9 14 

Gloster 8 22 

New-York and New-Jersey State line - 3 25 

Tappan - - 1 26 

Nyack - - 5 31 

Warren - - 7 38 

Stony Pomt - - - - 5 43 

Gibraltar 4 47 

West Point 3 50 

Canterbury ---------- S 55 

New-Windsor --------- 3 58 

Newburg ---. 2 60 

Milton - - - - 12 72 

Pelham 12 84 

Kingston 9 93 

Cross Esopus creek to Sagertie's - - - 12 105 

Catskill - - 12 117 

Athens 6 123 

New-Baltimore 14 137 

Albaj^y --15 15^ 



ALBAifY to Saratoga, hy Schenectady. 

Ar,BATfY to Schenectady 16 

Cross Mohawk river to Longtown - - 8 24 

Ballstm. --- 4 28 

Ballston Springs ---,---. 331 

Saratoga Springs .---_-. 8 39 



IQ HOBOKEN— -KINGSBRIDGE — PHILLIFSBUAG. 



Albany to Saratoga, by Waterford. 

M. I^I. 

Albany to Mohawk river 9 

Waterford 2 11 

Anthony's Hill - 15 26 

Ballston Springs 3 29 

Saratoga Springs -.,--.- 8 37 



We shall not detain our readers with a description of the 
great commercial city of New-York ; one sufficiently minute 
would occupy too much space in our little volume, and it 
may easily be obtained from the regular guide-books of the 
place. 

Leaving New-York therefore, at once, we shall endeavour 
to point out to the northern tourist, the objects which will 
attract his notice, as he glides in the steam-boat along the 
waters of the majestic Hudson. 

On leaving the quay, the right is formed at first by the 
city itself, then by its environs, gradually becoming less and 
less compact, till they are succeeded by the villas, country- 
seats, and small farms, which usually surround a large city. 
The left is formed by the Jersey shore, on which are scatter- 
ed the houses of tiie city of Jersey and Hohoken, the banks 
gradually becoming bolder as we proceed ; and about three 
miles above Paulus Hook, the attention of the traveller is at- 
tracted to the spot where General Hamilton was killed by 
Mr. Burr, on the 11th July, 1804. At Fort Xee, six miles 
farthfer, the western shore becomes still more abrupt, and the 
precipice higher ; on the opposite bank, but about a mile 
above, is Fort Washington ; and though the hills are bold, 
they are less perpendicular, and slope more gradually to the 
river, than those of New-Jersey. The river is here upwards 
of a mile in width. The same character continues untU we 
pass the small creek which leads to Klngshridge, the bound- 
ary of the city and county of New-York. The name given 
to this creek by the Dutch was Spyten Duyvil Kill, or Spi- 
ting Devil creek 5 a name probably conferred on it by some 



I 



TAPPAN SEA. 



17 



worthy burgomaster of yore, from the troubles and dangers 
he encountered, in exploring its almost endless windings. 

. After this the country is more tame, though beautifully che- 
quered with wood and cultivation, as far as PhilKpshurgt five 
miles above Kingsbridge. 

From Fort Lee the Jersey shore becomes more and more 
bold ; its precipices, some of which are three hundred feet 
high, extend in a regular and continued hne for about four- 
teen miles, where a larg-e bay, running in to the westward, 

''> forms the entrance of the Tappan Sea. These chfFs, which 
are known by the name of the Palisades^ are basaltic, and 
seem to form a part of the first great ridge of hills which 
passes along the eastern side of the continent : they vaiy in 
width from half a mile to two miles, and will attract the at- 
tention of every traveller, from the lofty and perpendicular 
face which they present. The rock is hard, fine, and of a 

• dark colour ; it was used in former ages by the Indians, for 
their aiTow-points. About twelve miles above Fort Lee, the 
line which divides the states of New- York and New-Jersey 
strikes the west bank of the Hudson ; and from that point 
northward, both sides of the river belong to New- York. 

The Hudson, which below had seldom exceeded a mUe 
in width, now spreads into an expanse of water not less than 
three miles broad, which was denominated, by the ancient 
Dutch navigators, the Tappaan Zee; and where, it is said, the 
cautious Mynheers always prudently shortened sail, and im- 
plored the protection of St. Nicholas, ere they crossed. The 
passage, of eight miles, through this lake, is exceedingly in- 
teresting, and miglit demand at our hands some dehneation of 

, ■ its beauties ; but this has been already done by the enchant- 
ing pen of the venerable historian of New- York, who imparts 
'a classic feeling to every scene he has described, and whose 
description the traveller will thank us for inserting. 

" Now did the vessel of the gallant Peter, career it gayly 

' across the vast expanse of Tappan Bay, whose wide extend- 
■ ed shores present a variety of delectable scenery — here the 
bold promontory, crowned with embowering trees, advanc- 
ing into the bay — there the long woodland slope, sweeping 

' up from the shore in rich luxuriance, and terminating in the 
upland precipice — while at a distance a long waving line of 
rocky heights, threw their gigantic shades across the water, 
Kow woiSd they pass where some little modest interval, 



18 TAPPAN SEA^ 

opening among these stupendous scenes, yet retreating aas| 
it were for protection into the embraces of the neighbouring 
mountains, displayed a rui-al paradise, fraught with sweet 
and pastoral beauties; the velvet tufted lawn — the bushy 
copse — the tinkling rivulet, stealing through the fresh and 
vivid verdure — on whose banks was situated some little In- 
dian village, or peradventm'e, the rude cabin of some solitary 
hunter. 

**The different periods of the revolving day, seemed each 
with cunning magic, to diffuse a different charm over the 
scene. Now would the jovial sun break gloriously from the 
east, blazing from the summits of the liills, and sparkHng the 
landscape with a thousand dewy gems ; while along the bor- 
ders of the river were seen heavy masses of mist, which like 
midnight caitiffs, distm-bed at his approach, made a sluggish 
retreat, rolling in sullen reluctance up the mountains. At 
such times all was brightness and life and gayety — ^the atmo- 
sphere seemed of an indescribable pureness and transparen- 
cy — the birds broke forth in wanton madrigals, and the 
freshening breezes wafted the vessel merrily on her course. 
But when the sun sunk amid a flood of glory in the west, 
mantling the heavens and the earth with a thousand gorge- 
ous dyes — ^then all was calm, silent and magnificent. The 
late swelling sail hung lifelessly against the mast — the sea- 
man with folded arms leaned against the shrouds, lost in that 
involuntary musing which the sober grandeur of nature com- 
mands in the rudest of her childi-en. The vast bosom of the 
Hudson was like an unruffled miiTor, reflecting the golden 
splendour of the heavens, excepting that now and then a 
bai'k canoe would steal across its surfe.ce, filled with painted 
savages, whose gay feathers glai-ed brightly, as perchance a 
lingering ray of the setting sun gleamed upon them from 
the western mountains."* 

Near the little village of Tappmiy and three or four miles 
from the western shore, is the tomb of Major Andre, the 
amiable and interesting young English officer, who, in the 
year 1780, fell a victim to the schemes of the treacherous 
Arnold and his own imprudence. At that period, liis fate 
was by many considered unjust, by all was lamented — ^but 
timcj which always corrects the transitory, and often incon- 

* Knickerbocker, II. lOSi 



3IAJ0R AKDHE. 19 

sideraie, opinions of the day, has justified the decision of the 
American general, as consonant to the principles of morahtyj 
of warhke intercourse and of honour. It is said he was 
amiable and accomphshed, and nature had bestowed on him 
a taste for elegant literature and the fine arts, which had 
been greatly improved by a good education, and attentive 
study. His fidehty, with his situation and character, made 
him a good agent in the conduct of the plot, which had been 
formed by sir Henry Clinton and the infamous Arnold, for 
deUvering up West Point to the British ; but his high ideas 
of candour, and his abhorrence of duplicity, made him in- 
expert in practising those arts of deception which it requir- 
ed. After having secretly met Arnold on the beach of the 
river, and formed the necessary plans, he attempted to re- 
turn to New-York, assuming a feigned name and a disguise ; 
but when he had advanced some distance in security, and 
thought Jiimself out of danger, he was stopped and discover- 
ed by three of the New- York militia, who were, with others, 
scouting between the outposts of the two armies. Andre 
offered his captors a purse of gold, and a new valuable watch, 
}f they would let him pass; and permanent provision, and fu- 
ture promotion, if they would convey and accompany him to 
New-York. They nobly disdained the proffered bribe, and 
delivered him, a prisoner, to Lieutenant-Colonel Jemison, 
who commanded the scouting parties. In testimony of the 
high sense entertained of the virtuous and patriotic conduct 
of John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van-Wert, the 
captors of Andre, Congress resolved, *'that each of them re- 
ceive, annually, two hundred dollars in specie, during hfe ; 
that the board of war be directed to procure for each of them 
a silver medal, on one side of which should be a shield, with 
tliis inscription, * Fidelity,' and on the other the following 
motto * Vincit Amor Patriae ;* and that the commander in 
chief be requested to present the same, with the thanks of 
Congress, for their fidelity, and the eminent service they ren- 
dered their country." Lieutenant Colonel Jemison forward- 
ed to Washington all the papers found upon Andre, with a 
letter giving an account of the whole afiair ; but the express, 
by taking a different route from the general, who was return- 
ing from a conference at Hartford, with count de Rocham- 
beau, missed him. The same packet, which detailed the 
particulars of Andre's capture, brought a letter from him, in 



20 MAJOR ANBRE. 

which he avowed his name and character, and endeavoured 
to show that he did not come under the description of a spy. 
The letter was expressed in terms of dignity, without inso- 
lence, and of apology, without meanness. He stated therein, 
that he had held a correspondence with a person, under the 
orders of his general ; that his attention went no fmlher than 
meeting that person, on neutral ground, for the purpose of 
intelligence ; and that, against his stipulation, his intention, 
and without his knowledge beforehand, he was brought 
within the American posts, and had to concert his escape 
from them. Being taken on his return, he was betrayed in- 
to the vile condition of an enemy in disguise. His principal 
request was, that "whatever his fate might be, a decency 
of treatment might be observed, which would mark, that, 
though unfortunate, he was branded with nothing that was 
dishonourable, and that he was involuntarily an impostor." 
General Washington appointed a court martial, who exa- 
mined into the affair with the most scrupulous care, and finally 
condemned him to death as a spy, agreeably to the laws and 
usages of nations. The British officers made eveiy exer- 
tion to save him, but without effect. It was the general 
opinion of the American army, that his life was forfeited ; 
and that national dignity and sound policy required, that the 
forfeiture should be exacted. Andre, though superior to 
the terrors of death, wished to die like a soldier. To obtain 
this favour, he wrote a letter to Washington, fraught with 
sentiments of military dignity. From an adherence to the 
usages of war, it was not thought proper to gi'ant his request; 
but his delicacy was saved from the pain of receiving a nega- 
tive answer. The guard, which attended him in his confine- 
ment, marched with him to the place of execution. The 
way over which he passed, was crowded, on each side, by 
anxious spectators. Theix' sensibility was strongly impressed, 
by beholding a well-dressed youth, in the bloom of life, of 
peculiarly engaging person, mien and aspect, devoted to 
immediate execution. Major Andre walked with firmness, 
composure and dignity, between two officers of his guard, 
his arms being locked in theirs. Upon seeing the prepara- 
tions, at the fatal spot, he asked, with some degree of con- 
cern, "must I die in this manner }" he was told it was un- 
avoidable. He repUed " I am reconciled to my fate, but not 



MAJOR ANDBt. 21. 

lo tlic mode ;" but soon subjoined, " it will be but a momen- 
taiy pang-. " He ascended the cart with a pleasing- counte- 
nance, and with a degree of composure, which excited the 
admiration, and melted the hearts, of all the spectators. He 
was asked, when the fatal moment was at hand, if he had any- 
thing to say ? He answered, " nothing- but to request, that 
you will witness to the world, that I die like a brave man.'* 
The succeeding moments closed the affecting scene. 

This execution was the subject of severe censures. Bar- 
barity, cruelty and murder, were plentifully charged on the 
Americans ; but impai'thl men of aU nations allowed, that it 
was warranted by the usages of war. It cannot be condemn- 
ed without condemning the maxims of self preservation, 
which have uniformly guided the practice of hostile nations. 
The finer feelings of humanity would be gratified, by <Us- 
pensing with the rigid maxims of war, in favour of so dis- 
tinguished an officer ; but these feelings must be controlled 
by a regard for the public safety. Such was the distressed 
state of the American army, and so abundant were their 
causes of complaint, that there was much to fear from the 
contagious nature of treachery. Could it have been reduced 
to a certainty, that there were no more Arnolds in America, 
perhaps Andre's life might have been spared ; but the ne- 
cessity of discouraging further plots fixed his fate, and stamp- 
ed it with the seal of political necessity. If conjectures in the 
boundless field of possible contingencies were to be indulged, 
it might be said, that it were more consonant to humanity, 
to take one life, than, by ill-timed lenity, to lay a foundation 
which probably would occasion, not only the loss of many, 
but endanger the independence of a great country. 

Though a regard to the public safety imposed a necessity 
for inflicting the rigours of martial law, yet the rare worth of 
this unfortunate officer, made his unhappy case the subject 
of universal regret. Not only among the partisans of royal 
government, but among the firmest American republicans, 
the friendly tear of sympathy freely flowed, for the early fall 
of this amiable young man. Some condemned, others justi- 
fied, but all regretted, the fatal sentence which put a period 
to his valuable life.* 

* See Ramsay, II. 380-384, 



22 TABRYTOWN SINKSING— ^-STONI POIST. 

As we enter the Tappan Sea, the western shore becomes 
a rich and finely cultivated country, rising" gently from the 
river for some distance, and then terminating in high hills. 
The soil on the eastern side is not so fertile, being generally 
a gravel, mixed with rocks and stones; the appearance of the 
country is, however, very beautifid, and the intermixture of 
farm houses, elegant country-seats, fine forests and cultivat- 
ed fields, with occasional villages, presents many an inter- 
esting scene. Ten miles above Phillipsburg is Tmrytowriy 
a village of considerable trade with New-York. The name was 
given to it, we are told,* in former days, by the good house- 
wives of the adjacent country, fi'om the inveterate propensi- 
ty of their husbands to linger about the village tavern, on 
market days. And its neiglibourhood is now familiar to the 
traveller, as the scene from wliich the hapless Ichabod Crane 
was driven, by the haughty frowns of the beauteous but hard- 
hearted Katrina Van Tassel, the blustering rivahy of Brom 
Bones, and the more than mortal vengeance of the Headless 
Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. 

Six miles above Tarrytown, is the village of Singsing; and 
three miles farther, the Croton river, which enters the Hudson 
at the northern extremity of the Tappan Sea. Passing Tell- 
er's Point, on the east, we now enter HaverstrawBay, another 
expansion of the river, in which are a number of rocky, wood- 
ed islands : near its northern termination, on the western 
shore, is Stony Point, a steep round hill, rising perhaps sixty 
feet above the river, having a bold rocky shore, and united 
to the main land by a narrow isthmus. The remains of the 
fort are still distinct, and will be recollected as the scene of 
General Wayne's gallant exploit on the night of the 15th of 
July, 1779, when he took it by storm from the British, with 
only three hundred men. It is thiily-nine miles above New- 
York i and this, as well as the opposite point, is composed 
of a hard calcareous stone. 

Opposite to Stony Point, and on the eastern shore, is Ver- 
plank's Point, a beautiful peninsula, projecting into the river. 
Off it lay the British frigate, to receive General Arnold, after 
ills treachery at West Point. Two miles above, at the bottom 
of a deep bay, running into the river, and eight miles above 
Croton, is the village of PeeJeskill, very prettily situated at 

Sketch Book, II. 255. 



PEEKSKILL — THE HIGHLANDS. 2j 

• Hie foot of the Highlands, and carrying- on a considerable 
ti'ade with New-York. In its neighbourhood are the ruins of 
several forts, built by the Americans, in the revolutionary 
war, to protect this important pass ; but these remains are 
now scarcely to be found, even by the inquisitive traveller, 
and each successive year renders yet more indistinct these 
traces of ^at interesting- period. 

We now enter upon a scene, which has long been cele- 
brated as one of unrivalled beauty and magnificence — the 
passage of the Hudson tlirough the Highlands, or Fishkill 
Mountains. This range of hills, which was known to the 
Indians as the Matteawan Mountains, appears to be an 
extension of the second great chain, or Blue Ridge, pro- 
ceeding from the south-west. Its geological formation is 
decidedly primitive, and is principally composed of granite 
and gneiss, imbedding occasionally ores of iron. From the 
circumstance of its so directly crossing the Hudson, and the 
appearance so strikingly presented, of that river having forced 
a passage through it, geologists have looked upon this ridge 
as the great southern boundary of a vast lake, wliich at some 
former period spread its waters far and wide over the more 
northern districts, and extended as far as the high lands on 
the borders of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the moun- 
tains in the neighbourhood of Saratoga. Whetiier this outlet 
Avas formed by some powerful convulsion of nature, or whe- 
ther by the gradual abrasion of the waters, can only be mat- 
ter of conjecture among those who are skilled in geological 
science ; and whatever charms such an investigation may 
present to them, the gay traveller would rather dwell on 
their majestic beauties, and contemplate their romantic 
forms and ever-varying shades, than perplex himself with 
theories the truth of which can never be determined. 

On entering the Highlands, the western shore is formed 
by a bold round mountain, rising steeply to the height of nine 
hundred feet, and called by the Dutch, Dunderbarrich, or 
Thunder hill. A second hill, of the same form, and upwards 
of thu'teen hundred feet high, is only separated from it by 
a narrow ravine or vale : the mountain is known by the name 
»of Bear Hill, and the valley by that of Snake Hole, 

On the opposite shore, the northern bank of the httle bay 
leading to Peekskill is formed by a remarkably vSteep moun= 
tain, called Anthony's Nosq : the sides present a i-ude rocky 



24 AJfTHONY's NOSE. 

surface, faintly intermingled with trees, and its summit rises 
to the lofty elevation of nine hundred and thirty-five feet 
above the tide of the Hudson. 

From what circumstance this mountain acquired its name, 
we can learn but from one author— the celebrated Diedrich 
Knickerbocker ; and we confess we should be inclined to 
believe, that the miraculous account was received from 
sources not worthy of implicit belief, had he not asserted it 
was as true as any thing in his book — ^an assertion which fully 
proves its veracity. 

"I am now going to tell a fact," says the venerable histo- 
rian, ** which I doubt much my readers will hesitate to be- 
lieve i but if they do, they are welcome not to believe a 
word in this whole history, for nothing which it contains is 
more true. It must be known then, that the nose of Anthony 
the trumpeter was of a very lusty size, strutting boldly from 
his countenance like a mountain of Golconda ; being sump 
tuously bedecked with rubies and other precious stones — 
the true regalia of a king of good fellows, which jolly Bac- 
chus grants to all who bouse it heartily at the flagon. Now 
thus it happened, tliat bright and early in the morning, the 
good Anthony, having washed his burly visage, was leaning- 
over the quarter-raihng of the galley, contemplating it in the. 
glassy wave below. Just at this moment, the illustrious sun, 
breaking in ail his splendour from behind one of the high 
bluffs of the Highlands, did dart one of his most potent 
beams full upon the refulgent nose of the sounder of brass 
— the reflection of wliicli shot straightway down, hissing hot, 
into the water, and killed a mighty sturgeon that was sport- 
ing beside the vessel ! This huge monster, being with infi- 
nite labour hoisted on board, furnished a luxurious repast to 
all the crew, being accounted of excellent i^avour, excepting 
about the wound, where it smacked a httle of brimstone. 
And this, on my vei'acity, was the first time that ever stui"- 
geon was eaten in these parts by Christian people. 

" When this astonishing miracle came to be made known 
to Peter Stuyvesant, and that he tasted of the unknown fishj 
he, as may well be supposed, marvelled exceedingly ; and, 
as a monument thereof, he gave the name oi Anthony's Nose 
to a stout promontory in the neighbourhood, and it has con- 
tinued to be called Anthony's Nose ever since that time." 

After turning this point, the river has a direct course of 



WEST POINT. '25 

about nine miles to M^est Point. Indeed, from its regularity, 
it presents the appearance of a grand canal, and is but about 
a half or three quarters of a mile in width. The banks rise 
steeply for about one hundred or one hundred and fifty feet, 
and then form a flat area, which seems to be the base of the 
loftier hills that rise above in stupendous grandeur. Look- 
ing back, the scene is closed by the mountains we have 
passed ; and looking forward, the same high chains, stretch- 
ing along on either hand, appear to unite in the distance. 
As we approach West Point, the scene increases more and 
more in picturesque grandeur — the banks on each side rise 
in rugged majesty, and present a uniform covering of wood, 
except where interrupted by projecting rocks, which assume 
every hue as the sun shines upon them, and reflect an ever- 
changing picture on the placid mirror at their feet. 

IVest Point is an object of no common interest to the tra- 
veller, both from the recollections of past times and events, 
and the conscious pride we must feel in the Institution it 
now contains. The fort was built at an early period of the 
Revolution, at once to keep open the passage of the Hudson, 
to secure a communication between the southern and eastern 
States, and to afi^ord an arsenal, and an asylum where in a 
desperate extremity a vigorous stand might advantageously 
be made. It is well known how important the British con- 
sidered it, and that, despairing of reducing it by force, they 
attempted to gain it by corrupting the commanding officer, 
the notorious Arnold, The ill success of his scheme, and the 
fate of his coadjutor Andre, have been abeady alluded to. 

The military college of the United States was founded here 
in the year 1801 ; and its first organization was devolved by 
Congress upon the late General Williams, whose talents and 
unremitting industry did honour to himself and his country 
which employed him. Its discipline, however, was brought 
to its present perfect state in the year 1817, when the super- 
intendent who now presides over it. Colonel Thayer, was 
placed at its head; a gentleman who unites to a distinguished 
rank and reputation in liis profession, a vast fund of know- 
ledge acquu-ed in similar establishments in Europe. 

The number of cadets allowed by Congress is two hun- 
dred and sixty, of whom about sixty are admitted annually. 
The age of admission is from fourteen to twenty. At the 
first examination, at which many candidates are always dis- 
C 



26 WEST POINT — ^MILITAHT COLLEGE. 

missed, as not sufficiently grounded in the elementary stu- 
dies, the young men are admitted to what is called a state 
of probation, and are subjected to a severe course of study 
in French, mathematics, &c. After six months, there is a 
second examination, which cannot be passed without good 
talents, as well as great application. Those who are successful 
are admitted as cadets, and complete their four years' course 
of study, unless expelled for improper conduct, which how- 
ever rarely happens. Each cadet is allowed by the govern- 
ment sixteen dollars per month, besides two rations a day, 
calculated at twelve dollars per month. The sixteen dollars, 
called pay, ai'e to find books, clothing, stationaiy, candles 
and all necessaries, which are fui'nished to them, and placed 
to their account. If there be any surplus on the balancing 
of their accounts, they are allowed to draw for it as an en- 
couragement to economy. 

The hbrary of the institution is one of the finest in the 
United States : it is rich in scientific works, both of om' own 
country and Europe ; and among the ornaments it contains, 
is a full-length portrait of Mr. Jefferson, painted by Sully of 
Philadelphia, whicli, both as a likeness and a picture, does 
great credit to that accomplished artist. 

The ban-acks of the cadets are spacious and well built. 
Three sleep in a room, to wliicli is attached anotlier room, 
in which they study, keep their arms, &c. The plan of 
studying, sepai'ateiy and by themselves, what has been pre- 
viously explained and pomted out at lectures, is found to be 
much better than having all the cadets assembled in one hall. 
No cadet is permitted to go into the room of another during 
the hours of study 5 an officer being appointed to prevent all 
visits at that time. The punishment for insubordination is 
sohtary confinement. No servants are allowed about the 
institution ; and yet, so strict is its discipline, there is no- 
tliing perhaps with which a traveller will be more sti-uck, 
than the neatness and cleanliness wliich prevail throughout 
every part of the estabhshment. 

At dawn of day, the reveille is sounded ; the students rise, 
roll up their beds, clean their arms, appointments, and rooms, 
and proceed to the studies of the day. 

It will not, however, be uninteresting to subjoin the follow- 
ing Tables — ^the one affording a view of the manner in which 
the employments of the day are distributed j the other, a list 
of the studies which are puj'sued: — 



WEST POINT — ^MILITjLRY COLLEGE. 27 

DisTiiiBiTTioiir OF Studies, and Emplotment of Time 
DuniKG the Day. 

From dawn of day to sunrise. 

Reveille at dawn of day — Roll-caU immediately after reveille 
— Police of rooms — Cleaning of arms, accoutrements, &c, 
— Inspection of rooms, thirty minues after roll-call. 

From sun-rise to seven o'clock. 

Class 1. Study of eng-ineering" and the military art, 

2. Study of natural and experimental philosophy, 

3. Study of mathematics. 

— — 4. Study of mathematics. 

From seven to eight o'clock. 

Breakfast at seven o'clock — Guard mounting" at half past 
seven — Class parade at eight. 

From eight to eleven o'clock. 

Class 1. Recitations and drawing relative to engineering and 

the militaiy art. 
2. Recitations in natural and experimental philosophy. 

3. Recitations in mathematics. 

4. Recitations in nmthematics. 

From eleven to twelve o'clock- 

Class 1. Lectures on engineering and the military art. 

2. Lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, 

3. Study of mathematics. 

4. Study of mathematics. 

From twelve to one o'clock. 

Class 1. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, lectures on chy- 
mistry as apphed to the arts, or on mineralogy and 
geology. — Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 
study of the same subjects. 

2. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, lectures on 

chymistry. — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 
study of the same subject. 

3. Recitations in French. 

-- — 4. Study and recitations of French, 
/ 



1 



-iO WEST JOINT — MILITARY COLLEGil. 

From one to two o'clock. 

Dinner at one o'clock — Recreation from dinner to two 
o'clock. 

From two to four o'clock. 

Class 1. Study and recitations of geography, history, ethics, 

and national law. jU 

' 2. Drawing of landscape and topogi'aphy. ■ ' 

■ 3. Monda}-, Wednesday, and Friday, drawing of the 

human figure. — Tuesday and Thursday, study of 
French. 

' 4. Study and recitations of French. 

From four to sunset. 
Military exercises — Dress parade and roll-call at sunset. 

From sunset to half hour past. 

Supper inunediately after parade — Signal to retire to quar- 
ters iiranediately after supper. 

From half hour past sunset to half past nine o'clock. 

Class 1. Study of engineering and the military art. 
— — 2. Study of natural and experimental pliilosophy. 
' ■ 3. Study of mathematics. 
4. Study of mathematics. 

From half past nine to ten o'clock. 

Tattoo at half past nine o'clock— Roll-call immediately after 
tattoo. — —Signal to extinguish lights, and inspection of 
rooms, at ten o'clock. 



WEST POINT ^MILITARY COLLEGE. 



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"WEST POINT — ^MILITARY COLLEGE. 31 

On the south side of the point, is a spot which no traveller 
will pass unnoticed — on which no tmveller will tread, without 
dropping a tear to one of the mos*- gallant and noble soldiers, 
who came to fight for freedom in a distant land, and one who 
would have fought for her as bravely and successfully in his 
own, could he have controlled the destiny of nations. A 
narrow and very steep path, in which large fragments of rock 
have been laid to form steps, conducts us down to a small 
platform, enclosed on three sides by steep rocks, while on 
the fourth a perpendicular precipice of near a hundred feet^ 
hangs over the river. 

Here dwelt Kosciusko, — ^liere, 

" Where once the garden smiled. 
And still where many a garden flower grows wild. 
Where now a few torn shrubs the place disclose." 

The young men of the college, in a spirit that does them 
honour, have subscribed fifteen hundred dollars to build here 
a monument, which, when finished, will be seen at a consi- 
derable distance. '* How would the hero have rejoiced," 
says an English traveller, " if he could have known that his 
memory would have been thus venerated by the youth of a 
foreign land ! A monument to the champion of Freedom 
will stand well in the land of Liberty ; and by none could it 
be more properly erected, than by the defenders of the rights 
of man.'* 

To the north of the point, and at about a quarter of a mUe 
from the college, is a small flat piece of ground, in a httle 
nook, between the foot of the mountain and the river. On 
this spot, which has been lately converted into a garden, 
stands a small wooden house, which General Washington 
made his head-quarters during the revolutionary war. On a 
very steep projecting point of rock, immediately above this, 
is the bmial-ground of the college, where a handsome column 
of white marble, surmounted with some appropriate military 
emblems, has been erected to the memory of those cadets 
who have died at the place, and whose names are inscribed 
on it. Another very chaste and beautiful monument stands 
at the north corner of the parade, close to the road by which' 
every one must pass before he can aiTive at the college. It 
is a small tapering obelisk of white marble, standing on a 
simple pedestal, on which is this inscription:-— 



jx; west point — vobh putnaw. 

TO 

the memory of 
COLONEL WOOD, 

KILLED IN THE SORTIE FROM FORT ERIE, 

This Monument was erected, by his Friend and Commander, 

MAJOR-GENERAL BROWN. 

Near this monument is rang'ed the artillery of the colleg-e, 
consisting of ten pieces of cannon of different sizes, besides 
a howitzer, and two mortars. Among- the cannon are two 
beautiful brass field pieces, which were brought to the United 
States by the French in the revolutionary war : they are 
highly ornamented, and on them is inscribed, Ultima ratio 
Hegum, "a motto," says a foreign traveller, "at which all 
good republicans must be somewhat amused."* 

On the summit of the hill, above the fortress, the inquisi- 
tive traveller may trace the ruins of old Fort Putnam, once 
the important guardian of the pass, but now silent and dila- 
pidated. It was on visiting this spot, tliat a gentlemen of 
New-York is said to have written the following lines: — 

Dreary and lone as the scenes that surround thee, 
Thy battlements rise 'mid the crags of the wild. 

Vet dear are thy ruins, for brightly around thee, 
'Twas here the fii'st dawn of our Liberty smiled. 

But lonely 's thy terrace — ^thy walls are forsaken. 
In ruins around thy proud ramparts are low; 

And never again shall thy cannon awaken. 
The echo that sleeps in tlie valleys below. 

Silence now reigns thy dark ruins among — 

Where once thrill'd the fife, and tlie war-drum beat loud. 

Now the scream of the eaglet, slow gliding along. 
Alone sends its note from the mists of the cloud. 

But where are the heroes whose home once was here. 
When the legions of tyranny peopled our shore — 

Who here raised the standard to Freedom so dear, 
And guarded their home 'mid the battle's fierce roar? 

* See an Excursion through the United States, by an English Gentle-- 
man— London, 1824. 



NEW-WINDSOR NEWBUEG. 33 

They sleep in yon vale, their rude fortress below, 
Where darkly the shade of tlie cedar is spread ; 

And hoarse through the valley the mountain winds blow, 
Where lowly they rest in the sleep of the dead. 

The flowers of the forest have bing'hten'd that spot, 
The wild rose has scatter'd its bloom o*er that ground, 

Where lonely they he — now forgetting — ^forgot — 
Unwak'd by the mountain-storm thund'ring around. 

After passing West Point, the river widens on the right 
into a considerable bay; and the shores are still crowned by 
stupendous mountains, which give a majestic foreground 
to the scene. The river then turns to the left, and opens 
a prospect which perhaps exceeds every other on the pas- 
sage. The mountains, which have become more lofty and 
rude, tumble at once into the river, and form on each shore 
craggy precipices, some of them perhaps a thousand feet in 
height: their sides are formed of large massy rocks and trees; 
their lofty elevation throws a dark shade over the river be- 
neath, and impresses the whole scene with unrivalled sub- 
limity and grandeur. In front is seen the termination of the 
Highlands ; and as we look through the lofty vista of the 
mountains, we behold a wide expanse of beautiful and gently 
elevated country bursting on the eye. The hills soon after 
recede on each side, and take a direction across the countrj'g 
Avhich spreads far and wide into a rich and fertile vale. 

We now pass the village of New- Windsor on the left, pret- 
tily situated on the bank of the river, and carrying on some 
business with New- York. Two miles and a half bring us to 
Neivhurgy a village also on the west shore of the Hudson, 
eight miles north of West Point, sixty-one miles north of 
New- York, and one hundred south of Albany. The town 
was built, little more than twenty years ago, for receiving 
the produce of the western counties of the state, and trans- 
porting it to New- York ; in consequence, it has about fifty 
vessels constantly employed in this ti'ade, and is rapidly in- 
creasing in wealth and population. It is incorporated as a 
village, and contains about five hundred houses, four chiu'ches, 
an academy, a bank, and one hundred stores and shops. It 
is very prettily laid out ; and the coiuts for Orange county 
are alternately held here and at Goshen. The academy is a 



34 BEACON HILL — fiRAKD SACHEM FISHKILL. 

large edifice, containing a valuable library of nearly a thou* f 
sand volumes, and an excellent collection of maps, mathe- 
matical and philosophical apparatus, &c. The principal 
streets are paved, and the place is well supplied with excel- 
lent water. In the western part of the town, on a small stream 
called Chambers's creek, there are fourteen mills of various 
kinds, consisting of flour mills and powder mills on an exten- 
sive scale, and also plaster mills, fuUing mills, &c. 

From Newburg the view down the river is astonishingly 
grand, looking directly to West Point through the pass of 
the mountains — aU of them finely softened off by the dis- 
tance. 

Nearly opposite to Newburg, on the eastern bank of the 
river, are Beacon Hill and Grand Sachem, the two loftiest moun- 
tains of the Highlands. The former is fom-teen hundred and 
seventy-one feet above the river; and the ascent to the flag- 
staff on its summit is so easy, that can'iages have frequently 
gone up. The New Beacon, or Grand Sachem, is still more 
lofty, its elevation reaching to sixteen hundred and eighty -five 
feet above the tide. The view from its summit is one of bound- 
less extent and magnificence. We see at our feet the Hud- 
son, winding majestically through the Highlands ; the white 
towers of West Point glittering in the sun ; Anthony's Nose 
rising proudly beyond; and the Tappan Sea spreading in the 
distance. To the north, the Hudson is seen for more than 
fifty miles ; while the eye wanders around over a fertile and 
higldy cultivated region, chequered with every thing that 
gives interest to a landscape so rich, extensive and diversified. 

On a little creek, opposite to Newbm'g, is situated the 
village of FisJiklll Landing, so called to distinguish it from 
Fishkill itself, a town on the same stream, but five miles from 
the shore of the Hudson, and twenty miles above Peekskill. 

From the northern termination of the HigbJaiids, the coun- 
try on both sides is composed of the fine valley extending 
between the first and second great ridges, that is, the Blue 
Mountain and the Alleghany ; thus accompanying them to 
tlie south-west through the United States. This valley is of 
a soil generally rich, abounding in limestone, and diversifieei 
by several smaller ridges of hills, which are dispersed through 
it, some of them the spurs, or offsets, of the higher moun- 
tains ; others, apparently detached from them. Limestone 
is also found in detached strata, lower down the Hudson, as 



rOUGHKEEPSIE. 35 

at West Point and Verplank's Point ; and numerous kilns 
are seen along" the shores, where it is burned and transported 
to New-York. 

As we pass along-, the scene becomes hig-hly interesting". 
The shore, especially tlie western one, juts out in fine bold 
headlands, with beautiful bays between them; the country is 
adorned with g-entlemen's country-seats, and farm houses ; 
and there is all around a dehghtful mixture of wood and cul- 
tivation, while the hills, though they do not rise into moun- 
tains, yet are bold enough to diversify the prospect. The 
margin of the river displays a succession of busy villages and 
landings, all engaged m the trade which is successfully car- 
ried on, through their medium, between the inland counties 
and the city of New-York. As the traveller passes along the 
shore, beholding villas, farms and towns thus spread upon it, 
covering it with animation, wealth and beauty? the words of 
Pliny will pei'haps arise in his recollection — "Littus ornant 
varietate gratissima, nunc continua, nunc intermissa tecta vil- 
larum, quae preestant multarum urbium faciem." Will the 
time ever arrive, when these gay banks of the Hudson will 
be lonely and abandoned, as are now the plains of the Cam- 
pag-na ? 

It is unfortunate for the description of this river, that so few 
of the mountains and particular headlands have distinct and 
appropriate names, by which we could desig-nate them. 
When a fine promontory presents itself, you apply in vain to 
the sailor for its name : all he can tell you is, that it is some 
head, point or hook, an old Dutch name for a cape ; and it is 
thus impossible to point out exactly to another traveller the 
objects that have attracted our notice. 

About ten miles above Nevvburg, the western shore be- 
comes steep and precipitous, formed of rock, and covered 
with trees and shrubs: the eastern side is broken into a vari- 
ety of little hills and valleys blending with each other, and 
diversified with woods, meadows and cultivated land, over 
which are scattered farm houses and gentlemen's seats. In 
this manner they contuiue till we approach Poughkeepsie, or 
rather the landing, for the town itself is about a mile from 
the river. 

Poughkeepsie is a neat and flourishing town, containing 
about twenty-five hundred inhabitants, ten miles above Fish- 
kill, and the same distance from Nev/burg by the river, 



36 &TDE PARK— "PEIHAM— •STAA'TSBUEG. 

It was settled by the Dutch, as long- ago as 1735, and is the 
place at which the New-York convention met, in 1788, and 
adopted the Federal Constitution. It carries on, like most 
of the towns on the banks of the Hudson, a brisk trade with 
the city of New-York, and is itself the seat of a number of 
flourishing manufactories. 

After leaving Poughkeepsie, the first considerable village 
that presents itself is Hyde Park^ six miles above, on the 
eastern shore of the Hudson. It is beautifully situated on a 
handsome plain, surrounded by productive and well-cultivat- 
ed farais ; and in the neighbourhood are the houses of several 
gentlemen of distinction and reputation. On a noble emi- 
nence, a little to the south of the town, is the fine seat of the 
late venerable Dr. Bard, whose Memoirs, published a few 
years since, offer a delightful picture of all that is amiable 
and interesting in a Christian and a man. Opposite to Hyde 
Park is the village of Pelham, or New Paltz, a landing on 
the margin of the river, for the convenience of the neigh- 
bouring district, which is very well improved. 

Near Staatsburg, five miles above Hyde Park, is the seat of 
Governor Lewis ; and in six miles farther we arrive at lihine- 
beck, or rather at the landing, for the town itself is two miles 
from the river. It contains about fifty houses, and is plea- 
santly seated in the midst of a plain called the Ilhinebeck 
Flats, which is fertile and well improved. 

The Catskill 3foimtains, which have been for some time 
rising upon the view, now present a bold and imposing front. 
The whole view is indeed a fine one — the western bank of 
the 'ludson is broken into steep and rugged cliffs 5 on the 
eastern side, the road up to the town winds along the steeps, 
amid fragments of rock, and pines, cedtu's and stunted oaks, 
obtaining a precarious hold in the crevices ; while the back 
ground is terminated by the Catskill mountains, rising with 
their blue tops and sloping sides far off in the distance. 

On the western shore of the Hudson, nearly opposite to 
Khinebeck, but three miles from the river, is the town of 
Kingston, a romantic village, in the midst of the beautiful 
and celebrated vale of Esopus.* This httle, but interesting 
town recalls to mind some memorable events of the revolu- 
tionary war. Its inhabitants were amongst the first and most 

* See Dai'by's Travels, p. 24. 



KIN&aTON. 37 

arealous opposers of British ag'gression, in the colony of 
New-York, and of course were marked for veng-eance by 
the officers of the crown, who commanded on that sta- 
tion. In the summer of 1777, while General Burg-oyne 
was penetrating from the north towards Albany, a British 
squadron ascended the Hudson river from New-York, and 
landed a body of troops near the mouth of the WallkiUi who 
marched to and burnt, the defenceless village of Kingston. 
The inhabitants had but a few moments' information of the 
approach of their enemy, before their actual anival. A tu- 
multuous flight ensued — and before quitting- the sight of 
their dwellings, the smoke of the fire that devoui-ed them 
ascended to heaven. The consequence of this act of blind 
rage wa^ exactly what common sense would have expected 
— a more inveterate opposition to the British government. 
To feelings of revolutionary enthusiasm, was added personal 
resentment. Some of tlie stone walls still remain, to attest 
the destructive scene. Most of the houses then burned have 
long since been repaired or rebuilt, but a few stand untouch- 
ed : their mouldering remains lead the imagination to re- 
trace the lapse of fifty years, and amid the smoking ruins of 
their once happy homes, behold the mournful visages of the re- 
turning inhabitants — behold them turning an eye of vengeance 
after the destroyers of their property. An inscription upon 
the end of the village church records this deed of barbarism, 
this day of mourning, the 14th of October, 1777. The hour 
of vengeance was indeed near — three days after, Burgoyne 
and his army suiTendered themselves prisoners of war at 
Saratoga. The pride of the spoiler was turned to defeat, 
mortification and disgrace. 

Time and industry have effaced the ravages of war. Few, 
if any villages in the United States present at this moment 
an air of more domestic comfoit, plenty and ease, than King- 
ston does. The houses are scattered, and generally bviilt after 
the old Dutch taste, low, with few windows, and those small. 
Some more modern dwellings are exceptions to the common 
mode, being constmcted with an elegance and convenience 
equal to the houses of any of our country towns. 

Kingston stands upon an elevated and extensive plain, 

between the Rondout and Esopus creeks. Confining the 

view to the town and adjacent countiy, the traveller would 

suppose himself on the alluvion of a river. He is so, in fact j 

D 



58 MAsroa of livingstoi?. 

the plain is a complete accretion, formed by the ancient state 
of the country, and by the neighbouring streams. The soil 
is sandy, but extremely fertile and well cultivated ; the mea- 
dows and orchards are numerous and excellent. It is not 
ascertained with precision, what is the elevation of the King'- 
ston plain above the level of tide water in the Hudson ; but 
from an examination of the ground, along which the inter- 
vening road winds, we are led to believe, that the difference 
of level must exceed three hundred feet. Though sixteen 
miles distant, the Catskill mountains, from their elevation, 
seem to be much nearer, and give to Kingston an appeai'- 
ance cf lying low, while standing upon ground so much 
above the surface of Hudson river. 

In making the tour of this part of the United States, no 
traveller ought to pass without visiting this village 5 and every 
stranger will be pleased with the soft beauty of its scenery, 
with its retired situation, and with the plain, but affable man- 
ners of its inhabitants. 

A large tract of land, which here stretches along the east- 
ern shore of the Hudson, forms the Manor of Livingston. 
The country-seats and farms of many gentlemen of this fa- 
mily rise successively into view, as we pass along ; and the 
old Manor-House itself is seated in a bay, nearly opposite to 
the town of Catskill. This large estate was originally granted 
by the English government, in the latter part of the seven- 
teenth century, to Mr. Robert Livingstone, a member of the 
King's Council, and a commissary of the government at Fort 
Orange, now Albany. To the grunt were annexed all the 
usual privileges which at that day accompanied such a lord- 
ship. The proprietor was authorized to constitute a Court 
Baron, and to appoint its officers ; and the Manor tenants 
were entitled to elect a member to the Legislative Assembly 
for the Manor, without losing their votes in the county elec- 
tions — a privilege which they exercised till the revolution. 
This family, for more than a century, was very powerful, 
partly from their vast property, and partly from the distin- 
guished talents and high situations of many of its members ; 
and though its influence as a family has declined of late years, 
yet many individuals of it are still ranked among the first 
characters of the nation. 

The right shore is now formed by Columbia County, one 
of tlie best farming districts in the state. Its improYement 



CATSKILL MOUNTAINS. 6i/ 

has been extremely rapid of late years, and marks one of the 
chief sources of that wealth which the state of New-York 
has so quickly acquired. It was originally settled by the 
Dutch ; and at a very early period, their descendants had 
covered all this country, and ha^dng exhausted the richness 
of its natural soil by an ignorant and improvident mode of 
tillage, they had sunk into a sort of barbarism, and raised 
just enough to support themselves, while their intercourse 
with theu' neighbours, and with other parts of the state, was 
almost entu'ely neglected. But since the revolution, an ac- 
tive spirit has sprung up among the people ; and the numer- 
ous schools, the excellent hig'hways, the rich fields, and neat 
villages, show that Columbia is now a most flourishing county. 

To the west of the river, and at about the distance of 
twenty-five miles, are seen the Catskill mountains, through 
which the Hudson makes its way, in a manner different from 
the passes of the other mountains. There, it is by narrow 
and precipitous gaps, through which a course seems to have 
been made for it by some violent convulsion of nature, or the 
gradual abrasion of the waters — ^but here, it passes the great 
ridge through an extended valley or plain, unobstructed by- 
rocks. The Catskill mountains are a continuation of the 
grand chain of the Alleghany, as the Highlands are of the Blue 
Ridge ; and by some it has been conjectured, that this chain 
does not cross the Hudson, but gradually terminates in the 
plains on its western shore. This, however, is erroneous; for 
it is easy to perceive, that the hills in the neighbourhood of 
the city of Hudson are part of the same chain, resuming its 
course again, and maintaining the g-eneral direction of the 
great ridge over into Massachusetts, where, uniting with the 
Blue, or more southern ridge, they form the Green moun- 
tains, which extend to the northward, through Vermont and 
New-Hampshire, to the St. Lawrence. 

In some parts, this range is very lofty. Round Top, ac- 
cording to captain Partridge, rises to the height of three 
thousand one hundred and five, and High Peak three thou- 
sand and nineteen feet above the tide of the Hudson; and 
a turnpike road, which crosses near these summits, winds up 
until it reaches the astonishing altitude of two thousand 
two hundred and seventy-three feet ; it is the highest road 
in the United States, and from it the view is inexpressibly 



40" KATERSKILL FALL. 

grand. *' In this Alpine region," we are told,* "exists also 
one of the most interesting- cataracts in North America ; not 
from the mass of water, but from the perpendicular descent 
of the stream, and peculiar stiTicture of the adjacent country. 
It is a curiosity but httle known beyond the neighbourhood 
where it exists, though within a very short distance of the 
mountain road already noticed. The high fall of Katerskill 
is about half a mile from this road, near the summit of the 
mountain, and twelve miles from Catskill." 

The stream takes its rise from two small lakes, scarcely a 
mile apart, on whose borders the cranbeny (vaccinium oxy- 
coccus) grows profusely. It then runs gently along for about 
two miles, when it reaches the ridge of rock, over which it 
is precipitated in a cataract of unrivalled grandeur, whose 
whole height is not less than three hundred and ten feet. 

Era lo loco, ove a scender la riva 

Venimmo, alpestro, e per quel ch' iv* er' anco^ 

Tal ch' ogni vista ne sarebbe schiva— 
Qua? e quella ruina, che nel fianco 

Di qua da Trento P Adice percosse, 

O per tremuoto o per sostegno manco ; 
Che da cima del monte, onde si mosse, 

Al piano e si la roccia discoscesaj. 

Ch' alcuna via darebbe a chi su fosse." 

On the edge of the precipice is seen the house of the guide, 
who is always ready to conduct visitors to the spot, to point 
out to them its beauties, and to assist them in clambering to 
the situations from which they may best be viewed. We 
should give the traveller some account of this majestic 
scene ; but the old hunter, who forms the most interesting 
character of a favourite romance, has portrayed with so much 
energy the wild features of the spot, the boundless view 
from the summit of tlie chfFs, and the rude and pecuhar man- 
ner in which the stream dashes from rock to rock, and from 
precipice to precipice,— tliat we fear to attempt any other 
description. 

"* You know the Catskills, lad!' said Leatherstocking ; 
for you must have seen them on your left, as you followed 

* Darby's Travels, p, 33. 



GATSKILL MOUNTAINS. 41 

the river up- from York, looking" as blue as a piece of blue 
sky, and holding the clouds "on their tops, as the smoke curls 
over the head of an Indian chief at a council fire. Well, 
there's the High Peak and the Round Top, which lay back, 
like a father and mother among their children, seeing they 
are far above all the other hills. But the place I mean is next 
to the river, where one of the ridges juts out a little from the 
rest, and where the rocks fall for the best part of a thousand 
feet, so much up and down, that a man standing on their 
edges is fool enough to thhik he can jump from top to bot- 
tom.' 

* What see you, when you get there?* asked Edwards. 

* Creation !' said Natty, dropping the end of his ram-rod 
into the water, and sweeping one hand around liim in a cir- 
cle — * all creation, lad.' I was on that hill when Vaugharf 
burnt 'Sopus, in the last war, and I seen the vessels come 
out of the Highlands as plain as I can see that lime-scow row- 
ing into the Susquehanna, though one of them was twenty- 
times further from me than the other. The river was in sight 
for seventy miles under my feet, looking like a cm*led shaving, 
thoug'h it was eight long miles to its banks. I saw the hills 
in the Hampshire Grants, the highlands of the river, and all 
that God had done or man could do, as far as eye could reach 
— You know that the Indians named me for my sight, lad — 
and from the flat on top of that mountain, I have often found 
the place where Albany stands ; and as for 'Sopus ! the day 
the royal ti'oops burnt the town, the smoke seemed so nigh, 
that I thought I could hear the screeches of the women.' 

*It must have been woilh the toil, to meet with such a 
glorious view!' 

*If being the best part of a mile in the air, and having 
men's farms aud housen at your feet, with rivers looking like 
ribands, and mountains bigger than the Vision, seeming to 
be haystacks of green grass under you, gives any satisfaction 
to a man, I can recommend the spot. When I first come 
into the woods to live, I used to have weak spells, and I felt 
lonesome; and then I would go into the Catskills, and spend 
a few days on that hill, to look at the ways of man ; but it's 
now many a year since I felt any such longings, and I'm get- 
ting too old for them rugged rocks — ^but there's a place, a 
short two miles back of thsA very hijl, that in late times I 

d2 



42 CATSKIIL MOUNTAINS, 

relished better than the mountain ; for it was more kiverecl 

with trees, and more nateral.' 

* And where was that ?' inquired Edwards, whose curi- 
osity was strongly excited by the simple description of tlie 
hunter. 

* Why, there's a fall in the hills, where the water of two 
little ponds that he near each other breaks out of their 
boimds, and runs over the rocks into the valley. The stream 
is may be such a one as would tm'n a mill, if so useless a 
thing- was wanted in the wilderness. But the hand that 
made that Leap never made a mill ! There the water 
comes crooking- and winding among the rocks, first so slow 
that a trout could swim in it, and then starting and run- 
ning just like a creater that wanted to make a fair spring, 
till it gets to where the mountain divides like the cleft hoof 
of a deer, leaving a deep hollow for the brook to tumble into. 
The first pitch is nigh two hundred feet, and the water looks 
like flakes of driven snow, afore it touches the bottom ; and 
there the stream gathers itself together agam for a new start, 
and may be flutters over fifty feet of flat rock, before it falls 
for another hundred, when it jumps about from shelf to shelf, 
first turning this-away, and then turning that-away, striving 
to get out of the hollow, till it finally comes to the plain.' 

* I have never heard of this spot before !' exclaimed Ed- 
wards, * it is not mentioned in the books.' 

* I never read a book in my life,' said Leatherstocking, 
'and how should a man who has lived in towns and schools 
know any thing about the wonders of the woods ? No, no, 
lad; there has that little stream of water been playing among 
them hills since He made the -wrorld, and not a dozen white 
men has laid eyes on it. The rock sweeps like mason-work, 
in a half-round, on both sides of the fall, and shelves over the 
Ijottom for fifty feet ; so that when I have been sitting at the 
foot of the first pitch, and my hounds have run into the ca- 
verns behind the sheet of water, they've looked no bigger 
than so many rabbits. To my judgment, lad, it's the best 
piece of work I've met with in the woods ; and none know 
how often the hand of God is seen in a wilderness, but them 
that rove it for a man's life.' 

* What becomes of the water? In what direction does it 
lim ? Is it tributary of the Delaware ?' 



CATSKILL MOUNTAISrS. 43 

* Anan !' said Natty. 

* Does the water run into the Delaware ?* 

* No, no, its a drop for the old Hudson ; and a meiTy 
time it has till it gets down off the mountain. I have sat 
on the shelving rock many a long hour, boy, and watched 
the bubbles as they shot by me, and thought how long it 
would be before that very water, which seemed made for the 
wilderness, would be under the bottom of a vessel, and toss- 
ing in the salt sea. It is a spot to make a man solemnize. 
You can see right down into the valley that lies to the east 
of the high Peak, where, in the fall of the year, thousands 
of acres of woods are before your eyes, in the deep hollow 
and along the side of the mountain, painted like ten thousand 
rainbows, by no hand of man, though not without the order- 
ing of God's providence.' " 

The mountains around are inhabited to theii" summits, en- 
abling the traveller who visits them to find accommodation 
in their most elevated valleys. But in addition to this, there 
is, on the top of the mountain, and no less than three thousand 
feet above the level of the Hudson, an excellent and exten- 
sive house of entertainment. It was built by a company of 
gentlemen, anxious to enjoy, during the heat of summer, the 
cool, refreshing and invigorating breezes of so elevated a 
spot. On approaching the house, it has the appearance of a 
cage hung out on a cliff of the precipice, and the traveller 
is at a loss to imagine how it is ever to be reached. 

Nowhere can a few weeks of the summer be more agree- 
ably spent. The house affords every comfort that can be 
wished ; the buildings are one hundred and forty feet in 
length ; there is a ball-room, of very large dimensions, and 
fine piazzas extend along the walls, from which the eye may 
glance over hill and dale, cities and farms and forests, to the 
wide circuit of a hundred miles, — and embrace in the circle 
the neighbouring states of Vermont, New-Hampshire, Mas- 
sachusetts, and Connecticut. 

The Hudson, covered with the mist of morning, or glitter- 
ing in the clear brightness of mid-day, winds beneath, among 
the mountains; and from these heights the sun is seen to rise 
with such unequalled splendour, as fully to repay any one 
who has courage to leave his bed a little sooner than usual. 

At the foot of these faiiy hills is said to be the little ancient 
village, where Rip Van Wmkle passed his days, patiently 



44 HUDSON. 

bearing the unceasing eloquence of his dame, or reposing 
beneath the shade of the large elm, with the august Nicholas 
Vedder, and the learned Derrick Van Bummel. It was in 
these hills, that he beheld the short square-built ghosts of 
the renowned Hendrick Hudson and his companions, as they 
played at ninepins, in their red stockings and high-heeled 
shoes ; and the thunder that rolls over the lofty peaks on a 
summer afternoon, still reminds the passing traveller, that the 
sturdy spirits are yet pursuing theh unearthly game.* 

Hudson, the capital of Columbia county, is situated on the 
east bank of the river, twenty-six miles above Rhinebeck, and 
one hundred and seventeen above New-York. Just below, 
on the opposite shore, is the town of Catskill ,• and just 
above, that of Athens. The rise of Hudson was perhaps as 
rapid as that of any other city in the United States. It was 
founded in the year 1784, when Mr. Jenkins, a Quaker from 
Providence in Rhode Island, purchased what was then a fann, 
laid it out in streets, and began a settlement. It was soon 
peopled by emigrants from Nantucket, and the neighbouring 
parts on the sea coast, whose business being injured by the 
peace, came here, and brought with tliem their spirit of 
enterprise, particularly in navigation. From tiiat time, the 
place increased rapidly, and has now a population of about 
three thousand six hundred. It is incorporated as a city, and 
is governed by a mayor and corporation. Many of the houses 
are very well built : there are several distilleries, and exten- 
sive manufacturing establishments. Two weekly papers are 
issued, and the book-shops are on a respectable footing. The 

* The following statement of the heights of mountains on the Hudson 
rivei-, were calculated by Captain Partridge, and are deemed correct. 



Anthony's Nose - - 935 feet 

Bear Mountain - - 1350 

Crow's Nest - - - 1418 

New Beacon - - - 1535 

Fort Putnam - - - 593 



Highlands. 

Sugar Loaf - - 866 feet 
Bull Hill - - - 1484 
Breakneck - - 1187 
West Point Plain 188 



Catskill Mountains. 
Round Top- - - - 3105 | High Peak - - 3019 

Below Nexv-Tork. 
Nevesink Heights - 282 I Staten Island - 307 

HampsteadHarboui- Hill 319 | 

(Nexvkurg Political Inde.v,) 



COLUMBIA— KINDEBHOOK — GREENBUSH. 45 

water obtained from the wells is not very good, in consequence 
of which it is brought by an aqueduct from a fine spring-, 
about two miles distant. A number of ships are built here, 
though this trade is not pushed so extensively now as it was 
some years since: the vessels, however, that are ov/nedhere, 
are numerous, and are engaged in the whale and seal fisheries, 
and in European and West Indian trade ; besides which, 
many that are owned here are employed on freight from 
New-York. 

The passage up the river now becomes very beautiful, pre- 
senting on each side a finely cultivated country, occasionally 
swelHng into rounded prominences, and interspersed with 
country-seats and busy landings spread every where along the 
shores. Six miles above Hudson, on the eastern shore, is the 
village of Columbia, containing about fifty houses, and several 
mills and factories. Five miles farther bring us to KinderJiook 
landing, on the same side. It is the port of the village of Kin- 
derhook, which is itself situated about five miles inland, and 
is a neat little place, of twenty or thirty houses, with a church, 
academy, &c. Its name is of cm-ious origin, and signifies 
children's corner, or point ; and was so called from the num- 
ber of children belonging to a Swedish family that anciently 
lived on a point c£ land, about half a mile above the present 
landing. The creek of the same name is celebrated as a mill , 
stream ; and upon the promontory between its mouth and 
the Hudson river, is situated the fine farm and seat of Ml". 
Robert Livingston. 

From here to Albany, a distance of twenty miles, the only 
villages on either side, of any note, are Baltimore on the west, 
and Greenbush on the east. The latter is very flourishing, 
and contains about one hundi'ed houses. Extensive barracks 
were erected near it, during the late war ; and being white, 
and standing on elevated ground, they have a pleasing ap- 
pearance. 

The western shore is formed by the county of Albany, 
and the eastern by that of Rensselaer. The geological cliu- 
racter of Albany county is that of transition, and secondary 
formations ; the substratum is evidently argillite, and though 
masses of primitive rock are occasionally found, they have 
certainly been formed elsewhere. The soil and surface of 
the country are much diversified ; along the shore of the 
river are some extensive alluvial flats, but in general, the 



46 MANOR OP VAN aENSSELAEH. 

district is not one on which agriculture can be very profitable, 
without great expense and extreme labour. 

The county of Rensselaer is all of transition formation, and 
abounds in extensive valleys and alluvial flats, which afford 
a deep and fertile soil. There are, however, larg-e tracts of 
barren land, covered with hemlock, pine, and stunted oaks, 
and affording' but little encourag-ement to the farmer. 

About twelve miles below Albany, commences Rensselaer 
Wyck, or the Manor of Van Rensselaer, an extensive body of 
land on both sides of the Hudson, having Albany nearly in 
the centre. Two brothers of this name, the ancestors of the 
present family, were g-entlemen of large fortune in Holland, 
who came over to this country about the year 1640. They 
brought with them a number of their countrjinen as settlers, 
and obtained extensive grants of land, more in the nature of 
lordships, or lai-ge proprietary estates, unknown in the other 
colonies, than as simple grantees. These were originally 
subdivided among the settlers, who came from Holland and 
other parts by leases, some for years, some for Hves, and 
some in fee, with the reservation of a veiy moderate rent ; 
so that a regular succession of tenant and proprietor has been 
handed down to the present period, and Mr. Van Rensselaer 
can look over an extent of country peopled by his tenants, 
not only beyond that of any other man in the United States, 
but equal perhaps to several sovereignties in Europe. 

The good conduct of the family has preserved their estate 
for nearly two centuries, and acquired the universal love of 
the people, so that the title of *Patroon' is always given to 
Mr. Van Rensselaer, from general courtesy and respect, where 
he could claim it by no law. Their political com'se has been 
honourable and patriotic; their immense wealth, said now to 
amount to one hundred thousand dollars a year, has been 
generously and unostentatiously applied in the cause of sci- 
ence, and the promotion of happiness ; and the kind and 
amiable character of the present representative of the family 
has more than sustained the illustrious reputation of his race, 
during- a long life of unsullied purity and goodness. 

In the river, a short distance below Albany, is a long island 
near the western shore ; and it is at the upper part of tliis, 
that the celebrated navigator Hendrick Hudson is said to 
have ended his exploring voyage up the North river, and to 
i^iave held his first conference with the Indians of these parts, 



AftniTAL OF THE DUTCH, 47 

on the 19th of September, 1609. The Iroquois then inha- 
bited this country ; and tradition has preserved among- their 
descendants, now scattered far to the west, an account of the 
arrival of the white men on their sliores, and a scene of in- 
toxication that occiUTed. Tliis tradition is the more authen- 
tic, because it prevails among the descendants of the Lenni 
Lenape, at that time a neighbouring tribe ; though, in their 
distant wanderings, and the long lapse of years, they have 
transfen-ed the scene and the occurrence to the island of 
Manhattan, or New-York. In whichever spot the incident 
may have happened, the reader will be interested with it, 
and perhaps not less amused with the excellent account to 
which the Dutch relators of it have turned their classical 
knowledge, by transferring the Carthaginian cunning of 
Queen Dido to the wilds of the western hemisphere. 

"A long while ago,'* says our tradition,* *' before a man 
with a white skin had yet been seen, as some Indians were 
fishing, they saw at a distance a large object moving on the 
water. They hurried ashore, and collected their neighbours, 
who together returned, and viewed intensely this astonishing 
phenomenon. What it could be, baffled all conjecture: some 
supposed it a large fish or animal ; others, that it M^as a very 
big house, floating on the sea. Perceiving it moving towards 
land, the spectators thought proper to send runners in differ- 
ent directions, to cany the news to their scattered chiefs, 
that they might send off for the immediate attendance of 
their warriors. These amving in numbers to behold the 
sigiit, and perceiving- that it was actually moving towards 
them, conjectured that it must be a remarkably large 
house, in which the Manitto (Great Spirit) was coming ta 
visit them. They were much afraid, and yet under no ap- 
prehension that the Great Spirit would injure them : they 
worshipped him. The chiefs now assembled, and consulted 
in what manner they should receive their Manitto. Meat was 
got ready for a sacrifice; the women were directed to prepare 
the best victuals ; idols or images were examined, and put in 
order. A grand dance they thought would be pleasing-, and 
in addition to the sacrifice, might appease him if angry. The 

* See Heckewelder's Narrative, in the Historical Transactions of the 
American Philosophical Society, Vol. 1. 5 and Yates & Moulton's History 
of New-York, Vol. I. p. 254. 



48 AHRIVAL or THE DUTCH. 

conjurers were also set to work, to determine what this phe- 
nomenon portended, and what the result would be. To 
these, men women and children looked up for advice and 
protection. Utterly at a loss what to do, and distracted al- 
ternately by hope and fear, in this confusion a grand dance 
commenced. Meantime fresh runners arrived, declaring* it 
to be a great house of various colours, and full of hving crea- 
tures. It now appeared certain that it was tlieir Manitto, 
probably bringing some new kind of game. Others arriving 
declared it positively to be full of people, of different colour 
and dress from tiieirs, and that one in particular appeared 
altogether red — this then must be the Manitto. They were 
lost in admiration, could not imagine what the vessel was, 
whence it came, or what all this portended. They are now 
hailed from the vessel, in a language they could not under- 
stand. They answer by a shout or yell, in their way. The 
house (or large canoe, as some render it) stops. A smaller 
canoe comes on shore, with the red man in it — some stay by 
his canoe to guard it. The chiefs and wise men form a circle, 
into which the red man and two attendants approach. He 
salutes them with friendly countenance, and they retm'n the 
salute after their manner. They are amazed at their colour 
and dress, particularly with him who, glittering in red, wore 
something (perhaps lace and buttons) they could not com- 
prehend. He must be the Great Manitto, they thought, but 
why should he have a white skin ? A large elegant hock- 
hack (gourd, i. e. bottle or decanter,) is brought by one of 
the supposed Manitto's servants, from which a substance is 
poured into a small cup or glass, and handed to the Manitto. 
He di'inks, has the glass refilled, and handed to the chief 
near him. He takes it, smeUs it, and passes it to the next, 
who does the same. The glass in this manner is passed round 
the circle, and is about to be returned to the red-clothed 
man, when one of them, a great warrior, harangnies them on 
the impropriety of retm'uing the cup unemptied. It was 
handed to them, he said, by the Manitto, to drink out of as 
he did. To foUow his example would please him — to reject 
it, might provoke his wrath ; and if no one else was bold 
enough, he would drink it himself, let what would follow, for 
it were better for one even to die than a whole nation to be de- 
stroyed. He then took the glass, smelled it, again addressed 
tlj^m, bidding adieu, and drank the contents. AU eyes were 



ARRITAL OF THE DrXGH. 49 

now fixed on him. He soon began to stagger. The women 
cried, supposing him to be in fits. He rolled on the ground. 
They bemoaned his fate : they thought him dying. He fell 
asleep. They at first thought he had expired, but soon 
perceived he still breathed. He awoke, jumped up, and 
declared he never felt more happy. He asked for more, 
and the whole assembly imitating him, became intoxicated. 
After this intoxication ceased, (they say, that while it lasted, 
the whites confined themselves to their vessel) the man with 
red clothes returned, and distributed beads, axes, hoes and 
stockings. They soon became famihar, and conversed by 
signs. The whites made them understand that they would 
now return home, but the next year they would visit them 
again with presents, and stay with them a while ; but as they 
could not live without eating, they should then want a little 
land to sow seeds, in order to raise herbs to put into their 
broth. Accordingly a vessel arrived the season following, 
when they were much rejoiced to see each other ; but the 
whites laughed when tliey saw the axes and hoes hanging as 
ornaments to their breasts, and the stockings used as tobacco- 
pouches. The whites now put handles in the former, and 
cut down trees before their eyes, and dug the ground, and 
showed them the use of the stockings. Here, they say, 
a general laughter ensued, to think they had remained 
ignorant of the use of these things, and had borne so long 
such heavy metal suspended round their necks. Familiarity 
daily increasing between them and the whites, the latter now 
proposed to stay v/ith them, asking them only for so much 
land as the hide of a bullock spread before them would cover 
or encompass. They granted the request. The whites took 
a knife, and beginning on one place on this hide, cut it up 
to a rope not thicker than the finger of a little child. They 
then took the rope, and drew it gently along in a circular 
form, and took in a large piece of ground. The Indians 
were surprised at the superior wit, but tliey did not contend 
with them for a little ground, as they had enough. They 
lived contentedly together for a long time ; but the new 
comers from time to time asked for more land, which was 
readily obtained ; and thus they gradually proceeded along 
the Mahicanni-huck (Hudson river) until they began to 
believe they would want all theii' country, which proved, 
eyentually the case," 
E 



so ALEA'tTT. 

J]lhany Is a very old town, originally founded by the Dutch 
in tlie year 1614, when it was called Fort Orange. On the 
conquest of the province by the Eng-lish, its name was 
changed in honour of King James II. then Duke of York and 
Albany. Its situation is one of the most important in the 
United States, though by a stranger it would perhaps be 
thought unpleasant. Placed partly on an alluvial flat along 
the river shore, and then rising very abruptly to the height 
of two hundred feet, its surface is veiy uneven and irregular. 
But situated as it is, near the head of sloop navigation, and 
yet with sufficient water at its wharves to admit vessels of 
very large tonnage 5 being the great channel of intercourse 
and point of communication of the western lakes and coun- 
tries on the one hand, and those of the north on the other, 
with New-York, the southern states, and the ocean ; with 
roads extending from it in every direction into a rich and 
increasingly prosperous country ; and, above all, being the 
spot at which the two great canals debouche, it is already a 
large and wealthy place, and must in the course of time 
become one of the principal inland cities of the nation. Its 
population, in 1820, was twelve thousand six hundred. The 
main street is called State street, which ascends rapidly from 
the river to the Capitol. The houses are closely and well 
built ; many of them indeed are handsome and commodious. 

The Capitol, or State-House, is a large building at the 
head of State street, which cost the sum of one hundred 
and twenty thousand dollars. It is a substantial stone build- 
ing, faced with freestone taken from the brown sandstone 
quarries on the Hudson below tlie Highlands. The east 
front, facing State street, is ninety feet in lenglh; the 
north, one hundred and fifteen feet : the walls are fifty 
feet high, consisting of two stories, and a basement story 
of ten feet. The east front is adorned with a portico, of 
the Ionic order, tetrastyle : the columns, four in number, 
are each three feet eight inches in diameter, thirty-three feet 
in height, exclusive of the entablature, which supports an 
angular pediment, in the tympanum of which are to be placed 
the arms of the state. The columns, pilasters, and decora- 
tions of the door and windows, are of wliite or gray marble, 
from Berkshire county, in Massachusetts. The north and 
south fronts have each a pediment of sixty-five feet base ; 
and the doors ty^e decorated with columns and angular pedi- 



ALBASr*4 



SI 



ments of freestone. The ascent to the hall, at the east or 
principal entrance, is by a flig-ht of five stone steps, forty- 
eight feet in length. This hall is fifty-eight feet long, forty 
feet in width, and sixteen in height, the ceiling of which is 
supported by a double row of reeded columns ; the doors 
are finished with pilasters and open pediments ; the floor is 
vaulted, and laid with squares of Italian marble, diagonally, 
chequered with white and gray. From this hall, the first 
door on the right hand opens to the Common Council cham- 
ber of the corporation of Albany : opposite this, on the left, 
is a room for the Executive and Council of Revision. On 
the right, at the west end of the hall, you enter the Assembly 
chamber, which is fifty-six feet long, fifty wide, and twenty- 
eight in height. The speaker's seat is in the centre of the 
longest side, and the seats and tables for the members are 
aiTanged in front of it, in a semicircular form. It has a 
gallery opposite the speaker's seat, supported by eight 
fluted Ionic columns. The frieze, cornice and ceiling-piece 
(eighteen feet in diameter) are richly ornamented in stucco. 
From this hall, on the left, you are conducted to the Senate 
chamber, fifty feet long, twenty-eight wide, and twenty-eight 
high, finished much in the same style as the Assembly cham- 
ber. In the furniture of these rooms, with that of the Council 
of Revision, there is a liberal display of public munificence ; 
and the American eagle assumes an imperial splendour. 
There are two other rooms on tliis floor, adjoining those first 
mentioned, which are occupied as lobbies to accommodate 
the members of the Legislature. 

From the west end, in the centre of the hall, you ascend 
a staircase that turns to the right and left, leading to the gal- 
leries of the Senate and Assembly chambers, and also to the 
Supreme Court room, which is immediately over the hall. 
Its dimensions are fifty feet in length, forty in breadth, and 
twenty-two in height. This room is handsomely ornamented 
in stucco. An entresole, or mezzazine stoiy, on each side 
of the court-room contains four rooms for jurors and the uses 
of the courts. 

The attic story contains a mayor's court-room, a room for 
the Society of Arts, for the State Library, and the State 
Board of Agricultm'e. The basement story contains the 
county clerk's office, cellars and vaults for storage, and dwell- 
ing rooms for tlie marshal of the city. 



52 ALBANY. 

In the Common Council room, there ai'e portraits of some 
disting-uished Americans ; in the Assembly chamber, there 
is an admirable full length portrait of Washington, by Ames, 
of Albany; and in the Senate chamber, one of George Chn- 
ton, unrivalled in faithfulness and unexcelled in execution. 

From the balcony of the Capitol, is a prospect of ex- 
ceeding' beauty. In the foreground, the rich meadows of 
the Hudson, covered with all the products of a prosperous 
agriculture — ^beyond them, the various surface of the country 
becomes gradually less and less distinct, till the mountains of 
Vermont and the Catskill bound the scene. 

The Academy is also a fine building, though yet incom- 
plete, notwithstanding an expenditure of upwards of ninety 
thousand dollars. A Lyceum of Natural History has lately 
been established ; and the extensive and valuable collection 
of fossils, minerals, &c. belongmg to it, which ai-e deposited 
in its commodious apartments at the Academy, will well re- 
ward the attention of a scientific visitor. The Lyceum has 
lately commenced the pubhcation of its proceedings ; and, 
with the able assistance of Dr. Beck, will add much to the lite- 
rary and scientific character of the place. The Arsenal^ the 
Mms-Housey the Lancasterian School^ and various other insti- 
tutions, will be observed by the traveller, and speak highly 
for the liberality and public spirit of tliis rising city. But 
the great public work of the place is the Canal Basin. The 
two canals, having united about eight miles above Albany, 
flow along the western shore of the Hudson, until they reach 
the upper part of the city. The canal then enters the river, 
through a basin four thousand feet in length, and from eighty 
to three hundred feet in width, with ten feet water. This 
magnificent work is formed by a mole eighty feet wide, and 
eighteen feet hig'h, and is a termination worthy, from its mag- 
nitude and utility, of the stupendous fine of inland navigation 
which is conducted to it. 

Albany is the residence of many gentlemen distinguished 
for their talents, their stations, and their high character ; and 
perhaps among the most interesting objects of association in 
the place, is the seat of the late General Schuyler, situated 
at the southern extremity of the city. It will recall many of 
the most interesting events of the revolution, and will be 
remembered as the scene of an honourable and boundless 
hospitality. Though no longer in the possession of the de- 



WASHINGTON — NISKAYUNA. 53 

scendants of him who so well performed the duties of its 
owner, it will still be recollected as the spot where the gene- 
rous Schuyler received and entertained the unfortunate Bur- 
g-oyne, burying in oblivion the injuries he had sustained from 
him by his wanton devastation at Saratoga. At the opposite 
or northern extremity of Albany is the house of the pati'oon. 
General Stephen Van Rensselaer, embowered in groves and 
shrubbeiy. 

On leaving Albany for Saratoga, the traveller may select 
either of two routes: — ^that to the north-west through Sche- 
nectady, a distance of thirty-nine miles ; or that along the 
western shore of the Hudson through Waterford, a distance 
of only thirty-seven miles. 

The chief advantages of the route by Waterford, are, that 
the road passes through a much more pleasant and thickly 
settled country, and that we have an opportunity of visiting 
the Cohoes Falls, on the Mohawk. Immediately after leav- 
ing the city, indeed in its suburbs, the grand canal ascends 
from the Hudson, and continues along the narrow space be- 
tween it and the road, as far as the village of Washington^ 
live miles. Its course is along the meadows or flats of the 
river, and in these parts the land is fertile and well cultivated, 
but to the left it becomes more barren. The margin of the 
stream, as we pass along, appears sometimes profusely bor- 
dered with groves of acacia, elm, sycamore and other trees, 
often thickly covered with vines ; at other times, the scene 
opens, and the river is seen gliding along, chequered with 
several islands, while the opposite banks rise more steeply, 
adorned with wood, cultivation and neat houses. 

About three miles to the westward of Washington is the 
village o^ Niskayuna, a settlement of the Shakers ; a peace- 
ful and happy community, gradually increasing in numbers 
and in wealth. They are distinguished not only by the pe- 
cuharities in their mode of worship, but by their skill in the 
mechanical arts, their industry, excellent farming and Hberal 
charities : and though we may be disposed to smile at the 
enthusiasm which displays religion in so strangle a light, we 
cannot but admire the effects it has produced on their social, 
and apparently their moral state. 

Leaving Washington, we cross the canal, which now winds 
along on our left, and arrive in one mile at Gihhonsville, a 
flourishing little village, containing about fifty houses, and 

e2 



54 OIBBOKSVItm — ^LNITED STATES* A.11SENAI. 

presenting the appearance of active trade. It has a bell and 
cannon foundry, manufactories of town clocks, surveyors* 
instruments, and paper-moulds ? with a good church, and 
school-house. There are two basins here on the canal, and 
it has also a side-cut with two locks into the Hudson, which 
are of great advantage, and will no doubt occasion its rapid 
increase. Near this place is the United States' Arsenal ,• a 
set of buildings presenting a long front on the river, and 
consisting of the main edifice, thirty -five by one hundi'ed and 
twenty feet, and a great num])er of buildings for quarters, 
magazines, mechanics' shops, &c. on the most extensive 
scale ; it being designed to be the principal military depot 
for the northern section of the Union.* It lias also a dock 
in front, on the Hudson, and several small offices and out- 
houses, the whole in a handsome style of architectiu*e, neatly 
painted, and in very fine order. There are pleasant gravel 
walks through the depot, shaded by rows of the American 
elm tree, and extensive gardens. The shops are all well sup- 
plied with every necessary article, and the stores of every 
kind appear to be in the veiy best state of preservation and 
order. The pul)lJc property is probably little short of a 
million of dollars in value. This depot enjoys such com- 
manding advantages of geogi'aphical position, that it will 
probably be a principal one in this line, and be extended to 
a scale of magnitude proportionate to tlie national resources, 
and the supposed wants of warlike preparation. The canal 
runs through it, between the front and rear buildings, over 
which is a bridge. This establishment was commenced in 
1814, \inder the direction of colonel Bomford, of the ord- 
nance department. It has been for some years under the 
direction of major Dalliba, an officer of the same department, 
who has matured its details into an excellent system of eco- 
nomy and police. The United States' arsenal at Rome is 
considered as a branch of the ordnance department, subor- 
dinate to this. 

Immediately opposite to Gibbpnsville, on the eastern side 
of the Hudson, is the city of Troijy which, though it suffered 
so severely by the dreadful fire of June 1820, still ranks as 
the third town in the state, and, from its situation and re- 
sources, is destined to become, at no distant day, a great 

* SpafTord's Gazetteer, p. 55A, 



tnoY. 5y 

manufactiiiing' place. It is situated on a lolv^ and level piece 
of ground, at the head of the tide, scarcely raised above the 
river, and is formed by one main street, bending* with its in- 
flections, and crossed by others running eastward to the ad- 
jacent hills. The view is extensive; but the quantity of pines 
and cedars, spread over the face of the country, gives an air 
of sterility and dreariness to the scene. The population of 
Troy is about seven thousand. There are several public 
buildings, and the schools and houses of religious worship 
are numerous. Its Lyceum has already risen into consider- 
able celebrity ; and Professor Eaton, one of the most distin- 
guished scientific gentlemen of the country, has enriched it 
by his labours. 

The Patroon, whose life seems to be spent in judicious 
and munificent acts of beneficence, has recently established 
in Troy an institution whicli cannot fail to produce the most 
salutary consequences to society, and is worthy of imitation 
by every man of large means, and a soul proportioned to 
those means. This institution is a school for the purpose of 
instructing persons who may choose to apply themselves, in 
the application of science to the common purposes of life. 
The principal object is to qualify teachers, for instructing the 
sons and daughters of fanners and mechanics, by lectures 
and otherwise, in the application of experimental chymistry, 
philosophy and natural histoiy, to agriculture, domestic eco- 
nomy, the arts and manufactures. 

During the summer term, the students attend com'ses of 
lectures on chymistry, on experimental philosophy, including 
astronomy, on so much mathematics as is necessary for land 
surveying, on geology, mineralogy, botany and zoology. 
During these lectures, each student has the opportunity to 
examine specimens, and operate with his own hands, so far 
as to become familiar with every important subject of natural 
liistory, and every manipulation. 

During the winter term, each student is employed in giv- 
ing experimental and demonstrative lectures, on the subjects 
of his summer course of instruction. He also hears an entire 
course of lectures on each subject — also on the laws regu- 
lating town officers and jurors, and on the social duties pe- 
culiai' to farmers and mechanics. 

In the summer term, the students are exercised by sec- 
tions, under the direction of the teachers, in thtj art of ino- 



56 TROT. 

culating and engrafting trees, transplanting by roots, cuttings 
and layers, pruning trees, surveying farms, calculating heights 
and distances, measuring corded wood, scantling and boards, 
and the solid contents of timber, gauging casks, taking mea- 
sures, and calculating the velocity and pressure of rivers, 
water race-ways, aqueducts, &c. collecting and preserving 
plants and minerals, and in such other laborious exercises as 
comport with the objects of the school. 

In the winter term, the students are exercised by sections, 
at the workshop in the school building, in the use of tools, 
to quahfy them for making' repairs and performing small jobs, 
when a professional artist is not at hand. By such exercises 
in the work-shop, it is not intended that students shall be 
qualified for exercising any of the mechanical arts ; but for 
avoiding the delay and expense of calling a distant mechanic, 
to accomplish a purpose which does not require a set of tools 
appertaining to any trade. Besides, it is well known, that 
by a little labour in the work-shop, young persons acquire a 
taste for the mechanical arts, which will ever after inspire 
correct views on such subjects. 

When that day comes, which is to close the career of the 
most estimable citizen who has planned and endowed this 
institution, how different must his feehngs be from that por- 
tion of the wealthy class of society, whose sole object in life 
appears to be the promotion of personal and selfish views ; 
without recollecting that the true use of riches, the true road 
even to fame, to reputation, to that standing in the world at 
which they are aiming, is the application of their wealth to 
such objects as these, which turn on them the eyes of their 
fellow-citizens, and make them objects of veneration and love. 

At Old Bank Place^ in the upper part of the city, is the 
dam, from the eastern shore of the Hudson to (xreen Island^ 
and the celebrated sloop lock, a noble specimen of hydraulic 
architecture. The dam is about eleven hundred feet long, 
and nine feet high ; and the lock, wliich is large enough for 
the sloops employed here and at Lansingburg and Waterford, 
is thirty feet wide, one hundred and fom'teen feet long inside, 
twenty-five feet in height, and nine feet lift. The cost of 
the dam and lock exceeded ninety thousand dollars. 

About two miles to the east of Troy is a fine cascade, 
known by the name of Mount Ida falls. It is formed by the 
Poesten-kilJ, a stream which rushes from the high lands, and 



WHALE ISLAND — MOHAWK RITER. 57 

pouring down through wild ravines and woody dells, affords 
a scene wliich will attract the admiration of the lovers of the 
picturesque. 

An island in the Hudson, opposite to the upper part of 
Troy, is known by the name of Whale Island. This appel- 
lation is probably derived from the following" curious circum- 
stance, thus mentioned by the old Dutch historian Vander 
Donck, in liis entertaining description of the *NoordtRivier.' 

" Here I cannot omit to relate, although sometliing out of 
the way, that in the spring of 1647, when the water in the 
river was fresh almost to the bay, occasioned by the abun- 
dance of water coming down, two whales of a reasonable size 
swam up the river more than forty (Dutch) nules? and one re- 
turned, and stranded about ten or twelve miles from the shore. 
The other remained stranded on an island or bank, not far 
from the great Cahoe's falls. The fish was very fat ; for not- 
withstanding that the inhabitants of Rensselaer-wyck boUed of 
it a large quantity of train oU, the river for three weeks after- 
wards continued very oily, and covered with grease. Yea, 
sometimes, while the fish was decaying, the stench infected 
the air so much, that to the leeward it might have been per- 
ceived to the distance of two miles. I cannot say, (sagely 
continues the historian,) what could have induced this fish to 
ascend the river so high, being at that time upwards of forty 
miles from all salt or brack water, and out of his usual course, 
except it might be, that he was allured by the numerous 
shoals of fishes which he met with." 

From Gibbonsville to the bridge over the river Mohawk,, 
is about three miles. This river enters the Hudson in fom' 
branches, or sprouts as they are termed, and tlius forms 
three considerable islands. The first, Green Island^ com- 
mences just above Gibbonsville, and extends up the river 
nearly two miles, and sometimes spreads to the width of half 
a mile ; the next, Van Schaik's Island, is about the same 
width, but not quite so long, and is sometimes called Cohoes 
Island; the third, which is directly opposite the main 
stream of the Mohawk, and much smaller than the others, is 
called Haver Island. The American army was stationed on 
these islands, in August 1777; and many of the breastworks 
thrown up by them are still to be seen. It was the most 
southern point to which they retreated, under General Schuy- 
ler, before- the then victorious Burgoyne ; and here they in= 



58 LANSINGBURG^COHOES FALLS. 

tended to make a desperate stand, in the last resort. But 
fortune was more propitious. After a short delay, they again 
marched northward ; and a brilHant victory dispelled tiieir 
apprehensions, and sealed the libertj^ of then* countiy. 

On the opposite or eastern shore of the Hudson, is Lan- 
singhurg, three miles above Troy, and nine from Albany, a 
town of considerable business, and with a population of about 
seventeen hundred. It has an academy, a bank, several places 
of pubhc worship, and a number of extensive manufactories; 
but large sloops can only come up to it in certain states of 
the river; and Troy has gained a pre-eminence jvhich it 
seems hkely to retain. 

The bridge across the Mohawk is unfortunately so con- 
structed as to prevent the enjoyment by the traveller of any 
of the scene which presents itself on crossing it. From this 
spot, as we look up the stream, the Cohoes Falls are seen, in 
all their magnificence and beauty. In summer, the period of 
the year in which they are usually visited, the stream is not 
full, and instead of one noble cascade foimed by the whole 
of the river, the rock is only partially covered, and several 
separate water-falls are formed. This circumstance, however, 
produces a feature of great beauty ; for the dark red hue of 
the rocks which are thus disclosed, is finely contrasted with 
the silvery whiteness of the stream breaking across them. 
The rock from side to side is about seven hundred feet, and 
the height of the fall is said to be seventy. On each bank the 
cliffs rise to a considerable elevation, composed of the same 
dark red stone, and crowned with forest trees. In winter, 
the scene is one of much more grandeur: the Mohawk, then 
swelled with rains, pours down an immense sti'eam, and not 
only flows over all the rock, so as to form one vast and entire 
cataract, but raises the water of the river below, twenty or 
thirty feet. At these times, the scene, which is always beau- 
tiful, becomes truly magnificent and sublime — while the 
height and steepness of the banks, the colour of the rocks, 
and the sombre shadows of the woods, increase its picturesque 
effect. 

It is said, that when the country was inhabited by the In- 
dians, they were in the habit of transporting the skins and 
aiticles of trade in their bark canoes down the Mohawk, 
and when they arrived at the falls, they carried their boats 
round by land, In speaking of this circumstanccj old 



WATERFOUD — BALLSTOK SPRINGS. '•69 

VanderDonck relates the following anecdote: — "It chanced 
that an Indian, with whom I myself was well acquainted, 
accompanied by his wife and child, with about sixty beaver 
skins, was descending the river in the spring, when the 
stream is most rapid, intending to trade with the Nether- 
landers. Not being careful to come to in time, not re- 
garding the current enough, and relying too m^uch vipon 
his own powers, before he was aware, he was carried down 
by the stream, and notwithstanding he exerted himself to 
the utmost when it was too late, the rapids precipitated huTi, 
with his bark canoe, his wife and child, his beaver skins, and 
other packages which he had with him, from the top to the 
bottom of the falls. His wife and child were killed, most of 
his goods lost, and his canoe dashed to pieces ; but he saved 
his hfe, and I have frequently conversed with him since, and 
heard liim relate the story." 

From the bridge across the Mohawk, one mile brings us 
to the village of Whterford. It stands on an alluvial flat, 
forming the point between the Hudson and Mohawk, is well 
laid out, and has about nine hundred inhabitants, with two 
churches, a public school-house, and other buildings. It is 
a place of considerable business ; and great expectations are 
founded, and no doubt with propriety, on the benefit it must 
derive from the improvements in the navigation of the Hud- 
son, and the passage of the Champlain canal through it. 

From Waterford, the road continues along the west shore 
of the Hudson, the alluvial flats of which are principally a 
stiff argillaceous loam; and the river hills have the same kind 
of soil, mixed with sand and gravel. The country is in places 
well cultivated ; the canal winds along on the left, while 
frequent openings present views of the river, occasionally 
diversified with islands. There is nothing, however, which 
will excite the particular interest or attention of the traveller, 
dm-ing the stage of nine miles from Waterford, which brings 
him to a village called the Borough^ just above which is 
Anthony's Kill, an excellent mill-stream, and the northern 
boundary of the township. 

The road to the Springs here leaves the Hudson; and 
striking off directly to the left, passes for fifteen miles through 
the centre of Saratoga county to Ballston Springs. 
^ The country, as we approach Ballston, becomes an open 
champaign, agreeably undulated with swells of f^ moderate 



60 BAlLSTOJf SPBlIfKS. 

height. The soil is principally a strong" gravelly loam, with 
some tracts of sand and clay : in some parts, the gravelly 
tracts are very stony, but, on the whole, the land is pro- 
ductive, and yields grain or grass ; for apple orchards it is 
very excellent, and the fruit is of the best quahty for cider. 
The forest trees are of a lofty growth, and embrace a very 
great variety of kinds. The loamy lands have deciduous 
trees, and elm, ash, walnut, oak, maple, beech, birch and 
bass-wood, seem scattered in indiscriminate mixture, as if all 
found a choice of soil upon the same spot ; pine is princi- 
pally confined to the sandy plains, or the marshes, though it 
slightly speckles the groves of deciduous trees. Some of 
the swells of the highest hills rise with a gentle ascent, and 
the eye embraces, from a moderate elevation, an extent and 
distinctness of view seldom equalled. The farms, farm 
houses, fields and forests of the intermediate plains and hillsj 
invite to nearer view, and give a hvely interest to the per- 
spective. 

Until within a few years, BaUston Springs were, without 
comparison, the most fashionable and generally attended of 
any watering-place on the continent ; but the greater variety 
of mineral springs, and especially the superiority of the Con- 
gress to any other, have of late given to the neighbouring 
village of Saratoga a decided preference. 

The village of Ballston itself, which has arisen entirely from 
the visits to its springs, consists of about a hundred houses, 
and is badly built, and not well laid out. They are most of 
them open to the visitors in the summer, and it is never dif- 
ficult to obtain accommodations, on terms to suit every de- 
scription of persons. There are two principal boarding- 
houses — Aldridge's, on the west side of the village, and near 
the old Spa ; a spacious building, witli even/ convenience, 
and a garden of unrivalled excellence — and Corey's^ on the 
south-west, which is large, comfortable and convenient. The 
chief establishment, however, for the accommodation of 
strangers, as well as that of the most fashion, is the Sans 
Souci, which is delightfidly situated, on the eastern edge of 
the village. It is one hundred and sixty feet long, exclusive 
of the wings or pavilions, which are each one hundi'ed and 
twenty, and can afford accommodation to a hundred and 
fifty persons. It is larger altogether than any hotel either at 
Buxton or Harrowgate in England, though much on the sam€^ 



EAILSTON SPRINGS. 61 

plan ; and is said to have cost Mr. Lowe, the gentleman who 
estabhshed it, from thirty to forty thousand dollars. 

There are only two spring's in general use at Ballston. 
One of them (that which was first discovered) is situated in 
the centre of the town, and is called the Public Welly having 
been reserved for the benevolent purpose of serving the 
public, by Sir William Johnston, in the original grant of the 
land to private individuals. This spring issues from a bed of 
stiff blue clay and gravel, which lies near a stratum of schist 
or shale, nearly on a level with the brook or rivulet which 
runs through the town, the course of which has been 
changed by a dyke or canal, in order to divert it from the 
source of the springs. The well is five or six feet deep, and 
the water rises up in such abundance, that it would be diffi- 
cult to ascertain the quantity which it pours out in a given 
period of time. Immense quantities of gas, in the form of 
air-bubbles, break with a sort of explosion on the surface ; 
and whenever the water continues at rest for any time, ex- 
posed to the atmosphere, a sHght irridescent peUicle appears 
on its surface. 

A circular vessel of wood forms the well in its present 
state, into the side of which a trough is introduced, which 
carries off the redundant water. The sides of the vessel in 
which the water is confined are covered with an incrustation 
of a light brown colour, and the whole channel through 
which it flows contains such a quantity of this substance, 
constantly depositing, that it is necessary to remove it every 
5'ear, in order to give a free passage to the waters of the well. 

This deposition is erroneously supposed to be the iron 
deposited from the water. But this is not the case : it effer- 
vesces, and nearly dissolves in acids, a proof that it consists 
principally of earthy carbonates, coloured by oxyde of iron. 

The next well is situated about two hundi'ed yards west 
of the public one. It hes very low in the valley, and not 
many feet above the level of the rivulet. The soil from 
which the water rises is much the same as that of the public 
Avell, but close to the spring is a peat morass, several feet 
deep, which is annually accumulating, and will continue to 
do so till it is drained. 

This spring, which is called Lowe's Well, from its being 
situated on the private property of that gentleman, presents 
E 



62 BALISTON SPBINGS. 

exactly the same appearance as the public well just de- 
scribed. 

These mineral waters, on which the whole celebrity, and 
it may be said, the whole existence of the place depends, 
are of great efficacy. They are not very unpleasant to the 
taste, in which they do not greatly differ from the Seltzer 
waters : they abound in a neutral salt, with some iron, mag- 
nesia, and a great quantity of fixed air, that renders them, 
when first taken out, as sparkling and bright as Champaign. 
They are said to be serviceable in gout, rheumatism, and 
scorbutic complaints ; but the resort to them seems more for 
fashion than utihty, and in a medicinal view they are indiscri- 
minately frequented by all persons who think they have any 
kind of complaint, without recollecting, that the very quality 
which renders them so strongly beneficial where properly 
used, must make them in every other case as highly injurious. 
The young and tlie old, the sickly and the sane, the prudent 
and the giddy, crowd indiscriminately around the fashionable 
fountains^ the thoughtless laughter of health is oftener heard 
than the sigh of sickness, and all drink because others have 
drunk before, careless whether the draught be one of plea- 
sure or of disgust, of benefit or of injury. 

Leaving Ballston, the road passes over a sandy soil for 
eight miles. The country is generally level, except an oc- 
casional sand-hill, and though not fertile, is well settled and 
improving. The ground is principally composed of two or 
three species of rocks of secondary formation, but these are 
so covered witli immense beds of sand, that it is difficult to 
ascertain this formation ; and it can only be done by an 
attentive examination of the rivulets, which in some places 
have laid bai'e the strata. 

The surface of the ground, both at Ballston and Saratoga, 
is covered with large insulated masses of stone, commonly 
called boulders, consisting of large blocks of quartz, and 
round masses of other primitive rocks. These scattered 
blocks must have been ti'ansmitted from the neighbouring 
mountains, as they are not attached to the rocks in situ, and 
have no connection with them ; they are found in every 
country, and only prove the action of an extensive flood of 
water. 

In the centre of the village of Ballston, an excellent op- 
portunity is offered of examining; the situation of the strata. 



BALLSTON SPIIIXG3. 63 

A small rivulet runs throug-h it, which has laid bare an entire 
rang-e of floetz or horizontal rocks, consisting of what may be 
called a calcareo-argillaceous schist or shale. This schist is 
nearly of a black colour, and, from its staining the fingers, 
would appear to contain a portion of carbon : it effervesces 
slightly with acids, which shows that it also contains carbonate 
of lime. It breaks easily into laminae of any thickness, and 
impressions of vegetables, chiefly a species of grass, can be 
observed between the laminae ; but when large masses are 
exposed for any length of time to the atmosphere, it rapidly 
shivers, or decomposes ; and at this time assumes a trape- 
zoidal form, having a tendency to break into spherical masses 
or columns of a prismatic shape, which are principally either 
hexagonal or pentagonal. 

Alternating with this schist, and near the same place, 
wherever the beds of sand will admit an inspection of the 
rock, solid masses of calcareous rocks are observed. 

This limestone is nearly of a black colour ; its fracture is 
slaty ; it abounds with shells of various forms, some of which 
are so very apparent in their structure and form, as not to be 
mistaken ; they principally consist of terebratuHtes, corro- 
lites, and echinites, so extremely similar in many respects to 
fossils found at Mendip in England, that it is difficult to dis- 
tinguish the specimens from each other. This stone, when 
rubbed, emits a smell similar to the stink-stone of Werner 5 
it burns also into lime, and it then loses its colour. 

When we arrive at Saratoga^ the same species presents 
itself, though there is some variety here in the formation of 
the rocks; the shells are not so abundant in it, and the great- 
er proportion of the rock is traversed with seams of flint or 
chirt, which is found imbedded in it, sometimes in the form 
of veins, but principally in nodules or rolled pieces, so inti- 
mately mixed with the limestone that they appear to run into 
each other, having no simple fine of division between the 
calcareous and siliceous parts ; the former being penetrated 
with the particles of the latter, which is a much more re- 
markable fact than finding seams or nodules of siliceous mat- 
ter in a stratum that is purely calcareous, and would seem 
to strengthen the opinion of those who conceive that lime 
and flint are convertible into each other by natural processes. 

The ingenious and intelligent Dr. Meade, to whom we are 
greatly indebted in this part of our little volume, and whose 



64 SAKATOffA SPUIXGS. 

essay on the mineral waters of Ballston and Saratoga should 
be in the hand of every traveller, was induced to suspect, 
that among the other mineral treasures of this distiict, coal 
might be found, though as yet no trace of it has been disco- 
vered on the surface of the earth. No metalhc veins of ore 
have been discovered in the neighbourhood 5 yet, from the 
nature of the soil, and its geological formation, it would seem 
that there must be iron. 

To the scientific traveller, however, there is yet open in 
this district a large and unexplored field, which will richly 
reward the labour of examination ; and its plants and mine- 
rals would not afford him less delight than the gayer visitor 
of these scenes finds amid objects more animated, but not 
more interesting. 

The village of Saratoga Springs is situated on a sandy 
plain, with a gentle descent to the south. It is handsomely 
laid out, and contains upwards of one hundred houses, many 
of which are taverns and boarding-houses for the accommo- 
dation of the summer visitors. The three principal hotels 
are, Cong^ress Hall^ the Pavilion, and Union Hall^ all build- 
ings of great extent, and fitted up with much elegance and 
comfort. There are a reading-room, a circulating library, 
billiard tables, and most of those means of amusement, which 
are necessary to drive away the ennui that always must attend 
a residence at a fashionable watering-place. 

The situation of the country around Saratoga differs but 
little from that of Ballston, except that the hUls are not so 
high, and the valley is more extensive. It is in this valley 
that the springs arise; they are numerous, and do not greatly 
vary in their quality. The one which has been longer used 
than any of the others, and which is known by the name of 
Round Rock, is so peculiar in its appearance as to attract 
particular notice. It stands in a little valley or meadow, be- 
tween two steep banks, and rises in a conical rock of its own 
formation. This cone is about five feet high, hollow, and 
having a hole at the top, about nine inches wide, from which 
the water can be seen in a state of agitation, as if boiling, 
from the extrication of gas, which rises to the surface. An 
opening at the bottom of this cone, four or five inches 
wide, on a level with the surface of the ground, gives an 
exit at present to the water. The whole of this curious 
formation admits of an easy explanation. This, as weU as 



SARATOGA sviRmas, 65 

all the springs, contains a large portion of lime held in solu-= 
tion by the excess of carbonic acid with which they abound. 
When exposed to the atmosphere, the carbonic acid flies off, 
and the lime is precipitated in the form of a stalactite, or calc 
tufa. At the first appearance of this water on the surface, 
this process took place at the edges and sides of the well, 
and at length, in the progress of time, the whole of this cone, 
consisting of carbonate of lime, was formed, the well always 
rising as it was enclosed, and continuing to flow or find its 
own level at the top ; till either from accident or design an 
opening was made at the bottom of the cone, which now 
gives an exit to the water, requiring nothing more to restore 
it to its former situation than carefully to close the opening 
at the bottom, when the water, as before, would rise to meet 
its own level. 

Formerly, this was the only spring in use ; but, since the 
place has been so much resorted to, a number of others 
have been used, as the Congress, Columbian, Washington, 
Hamilton, Flat Rock, &c. Of these, however, the principal 
one, and indeed that which has given celebrity to Saratoga, 
is the Congress, the waters of which are sent to a great 
distance, and fifteen hundred bottles of it are sometimes 
put up for transportation in a single day. Of its mineral 
properties. Dr. Meade thus speaks: "The taste of the wate? 
is highly saline, but brisk and pungent 5 much more salines 
than the BaUston water, and rather more stimulating and 
acidulous. It has no sensible chalybeate taste, and no smell. 
Its sahne taste being very much counteracted by the smart 
pungency which it possesses from the carbonic acid, renders 
it less disagreeable to the palate than it would otherwise be, 
and after a httle use, its taste is by no means unpleasant ; on 
the contrary, it is thought by many a most agreeable drink." 
After a careful analysis, tiie following result was obtained 
from a quart of the water:-— 

Muriate of soda 103 grains. 

Carbonate of lime 27^ do. 

magnesia 17 do. 

Muriate of lime 3 J do. 

magnesia 4^ do. 

Oxyde of iron i do. 

Carbonic acid gas 66 cubic inches. 

Azotic gas 2 do. 

f2 



66 SARATOGA SPRINGS. 

But the minerals of Saratoga, and the healmg virtues of 
its spring's, are not the only nor the principal objects which 
draw to its sands the thousands who annually flock thither. 
Fashion, the goddess who can make an Oasis in every desert, 
has made this, at least for the present, the Spa or Buxton 
of the western hemisphere ; and from June to September, 
all parts of the country pour forth their children, on the pil- 
grimage of fashion, or perhaps of health. The scene, or 
tiie living actors who animate it, are for ever moving, in 
endless succession; each day brings new faces, and each day 
presents some character to laugh at or admire. We see 
men in their natural attitudes and true colours, and in all 
their variety. We may laugh at the conceited, admire the 
great, and sympathize with the sad — see the vulgar and the 
genteel jumbled together without distinction — ^ministers of 
state, judges, generals, parsons, philosophers, wits, poets, 
players, fops, fiddlers and buffoons. There are few who 
cannot, at least for a short time, extract some pleasure from 
such a scene. The amusements too, for occupying time 
are many, and we are never at a loss to find those who wUl 
unite with us in enjoying them. Billiards and cards, drink- 
ing the waters, a ride to Lake George, or the field of Bur- 
goyne's surrender, occupy the day? and in the evening there 
are dances at one or other of the principal hotels. In a 
word, Saratoga is like all other fashionable watering places ; 
and our readers must either visit it and judge for themselves, 
or take a description of it in the words of Master Simkin: — 

Of all the gay places the world can afford. 
By gentle and simple for pastime adored. 
Fine balls and fine singing, fine buildings and springs. 
Fine rides, and fine views, and a thousand fine things, 
(Not to mention the sweet situation and air) 
What place with these Springs can ever compare ? 
First in manners, in dress, and in fashion to shine, 
Saratoga, the glory must ever be thine ! 



Glenn's falls. 6? 



EXCURSION TO GLENN'S FALLS, AND LAKE 
GEORGE. 

Few persons leave Saratoga Springs, without making an 
excursion to these two places ; and the fatigue of the jour- 
ney will be amply compensated by the pleasure a traveller 
receives in visiting them. 

It is eighteen mUes from the Springs to Glenn^s Falk, on 
the Hudson. The whole journey is over a dreary barren, 
covered with pines, occasionally intermingled with a few 
other trees ; and the road is through a deep sand, full of 
small hills, often stony, and intersected by bad bridges rudely- 
thrown across the streams and swamps, which frequently 
occur. The distance of the houses from each other, and 
the numerous cross roads, nearly as large as the main one, 
which pass in every direction, sometimes occasion a little 
embaiTassment ; but this difficulty is fast disappearing with 
the improvement of the country. The Hudson is crossed 
by a bridge, and about one hundred yards from it, on a high 
bank, is the village of Glenn's Falls. 

This cataract is one of the most interesting objects which 
the traveller will meet with in his whole torn*. It is indeed 
highly grand and beautiful; and though it is not in any degree 
equal to Niagara in height and greatness, yet it is so diversi- 
fied, and so rudely wild, as to occasion the most awful and 
sublime sensations. 

It is, however, difficult to describe, and almost impossible 
to sketch ; as such a multiplicity of falls playing in every 
direction, such a variety of rocks moulded into every form, 
with numberless fissures and cavities, and so many tints of 
water and shadow, for ever varying in their colour, would 
requu-e a length of time, and extreme minuteness of detail, 
either in the writer or painter to express, nor when done 
could convey more than a faint idea of the beauty of the 
scene. 

The Hudson, above the falls, is about one hundred and 
sixty yards wide, and is crossed by a rock of fine blue lime- 
stone, perfectly flat, which seems to penetrate into both 
banks, and then to pass across the country. Over this the 
river tumbles, not in one regular fall, but in two grand, ones? 



68 Glenn's falls. 

which are again subdivided into many others. The height 
of the fall is about forty feet, and that seems to be the depth 
of the limestone to a harder substance, as the bottom of the 
river appears perfectly flat. The two gi'eat cascades are 
divided in the middle by a large projecting rock, which 
extends down the stream, and leaves a deep glen between it 
and the shore on each side; into these the waters precipitate 
themselves, and as they do not fall in a direct course, the 
various streams, acting on one another, have rent the rocks 
in a thousand shapes, and formed a cataract of wild and ro- 
mantic beauty. 

Above the falls, a very strong dam of logs is thrown across, 
so as to turn the water into numerous troughs or races, which 
convey it to several mills. These are so scattered, and fixed 
just on the edge of the precipices, that they seem almost to 
hang in the air ; and though they cannot add to the native 
beauty of the sceneiy, they g-ive it much diversity. A feed- 
er, itself a navigable canal, extends from the Hudson, two 
miles above Glenn's Falls, through this village and Sandy 
Hill, to the Champlain canal, which it enters at Kingsbury, 
two miles above tlie village of Fort Edward. It is about 
seven miles long, and is fed by a dam across the Hudson, 
twelve feet in height, and seven hundred and seventy feet 
long, where it has a guard-lock; and there are to be thirteen 
locks near the east end, supplying water for the main canal 
navigation, and water-power for hydi'aulic works. In the 
seams of the horizontal lime-rock, on the island below the 
falls, there are some curious excavations, water-worn, well 
worth a little attention from tourists. 

The basis of the country here is a black limestone, com- 
pact, but presenting spots that are crystalized, and inter- 
spersed, here and there, with the organic remains of animals, 
entombed, in ages past, in this mausoleum. The strata 
are perfectly flat, and piled upon one another with the ut- 
most regularity, so that a section, perpendicular to the strata, 
presents almost the exact arrangement of hewn stones in a 
building.* 

* Satin spar is found in thin, delicate, but extensive veins, principally 
\n the fallen rocks below the bridge ; generall) , it is of a brilliant white, 
but sometimes it is black, although still retaining- its fibrous structure. 
Crystals qfBitterspatk,v,-e\l defined, and glistening in black limestone, 
.occur at th.e same fluc^.—SilUman's Tour, 144. 



LAKE GEOKGK. 69 

From Glenn's Falls to Lake George, a stag-e of nine miles, 
the road passes through the same kind of dreary forest as that 
before we reach the falls. The first part of the way is a very- 
deep sand, with small hills, and the comitry not very tliickly 
settled ; the latter part is hilly and stony, as it crosses a 
spur of those mountains which have been for some time visi- 
ble on the west, and which, crossing the Hudson above, here 
wind round and encompass the lakes. About two miles 
before we reach Lake George, there is a fine view of it from 
the top of a hill. Descending this, the road passes through 
a beautiful little plain, which bounds the head of the lake, 
and extends on the left for a mile or two along it. This plain 
was cleared many years ago by the English, being in the 
neighbourhood of their forts, and presents a finely cultivated 
appearance. 

The road to the village of Caldwell^ now leads along the 
southern extremity of the lake, and close beside it, on a 
small eminence, stands Fort George ,- a small square fortress 
of masoniy, whose ruins are yet distinctly visible, and which, 
from the importance of its situation, would seem worth pre- 
servation and repair. 

Turning to the left, the road passes tlirough the ruins of 
Fort William Henrys a considerable work, consti-ucted of 
earth, by the British and colonists, to prevent the approach 
of the French, so early as 1755. The walls, the gate and 
the outworks, may yet be distinctly traced 5 the ditches are 
still deep, and water may even now be drawn from the well, 
which once supplied the garrison. Though now silent, 
peaceful and almost unnoticed, in former days it was the 
scene of many a gallant and bloody conflict, where the 
French and English soldiers brought into a distant country 
and an unknown forest, the bravery and hereditary hatred 
with which they have met for centuries on the fields of Eu- 
rope. But the tumult of war has long since passed away; 
green and fertile fields now cover their bones, and the time 
has already come, when the ploughman looks witli surprise 
on the mouldering implements of war, which he chaoces 
to turn up in the furrow. 

Scilicet et tempus veniet, cum finibus illis 
Agricola, incurvo terram molitus aratro^ 
Exesa inveniet scabra rubigine pila: 



TQ TOUT WIILIAM HEIirilY, 

Aut gi'avibus rastrls g-aleas pulsabit inane?, 
Grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulcris. 

The immediate cause of erecting" this fort, was one of those 
extraordinary chances of war, which often lead to results far 
different from those that were expected. In the year 1755, 
Sir William Johnston had encamped on this spot, with a body 
of British and colonial troops, preparing" to attack Crown 
Point, a fortress then in possession of the French: the British 
had also occupied Fort Edward, and several of the places of 
defence in the surrounding" district. The French army, then 
stationed at Ticonderoga, was commanded by General Dies- 
kau ; and tliis officer, having learned that the ganison at 
Fort Edward was small and badly provided to sustain a siege, 
determined by a sudden march to seize on so important a 
post. The British general, however, had gained intelligence 
of the movements of his rival, and despatched Colonel Williams 
from the camp at Lake George, with a thousand regulars, 
and two hundred Indians, to succour Fort Edward. When 
Baron Dieskau had nearly reached that place, he discovered 
it was better provided than he had supposed, and that a siege 
would probably be long and difficult : he determined, there- 
fore, instead of pursuing his march as he had originally in- 
tended, to turn suddenly to the right, and, crossing the steep 
and rugged mountain which forms the eastern barrier of Lake 
George, fall unexpectedly on tlie army of Johnston, encamp- 
ed unsuspectingly in the valley below. It was about noon, 
on the 8th of September, 1755, as Colonel Williams and his 
small party were ascending the narrow defile of the moun- 
tain, on their way to the assistance of Fort Edward, that 
they suddenly met the French army in the road before them. 
A bloody battle ensued : a deadly fire was pom-ed in front 
upon tlie troops of Colonel Williams, while the Indians at- 
tached to the French army, and who had placed themselves 
in ambuscade, rushed from tlie woods upon their flanks, and 
added tlieir fierce and barbarous cruelty to the overwhelming 
superiority of the French. Those who escaped the bloody 
conflict fled back to the camp, but Williams and Hendrick 
an old Mohawk chief, fell gallantly at the head of the troops; 
a rock on the east side of the road is yet pointed out as 
the spot where they expired, and still preserves, in me- 
mory of the event, the name of Williams's jRocJc. Baron 



T^OWr WILLIAM HENRY. 71 

Dieskau pursued the fug-itives down the defile, and attacked 
General Johnston's army, as they lay entrenched in their 
camp. The fortune of the day, however, no long-er accom- 
panied him. His army fought long", and with persevering 
valour; but, deserted by their Indian allies, they were at last 
forced to retreat. The retreat was worse than tlie battle ; 
for, just as the exhausted remnant of the army had arrived 
at the defile where they had defeated Williams in the morn- 
ing, and had seated tliemselves to snatch a moment's rest, 
they were attacked by a body of troops that had been 
despatched from Fort Edward to assist General .Johnston, and 
totally defeated. Thus, within the circle of four miles, and 
in one day, were fought thi'ee desperate battles; and a pond 
near the roadside, into which the bodies of the dead soldiers 
were thrown, still preserves in its name, the Bloody Prnid, 
a record of an event which has left no other traces of its oc- 
cuiTence. 

Sir William Johnston was rewarded, for the exploits of the 
day, with five thousand pounds sterling, and the title of 
Baronet was conferred on him by the King of Great Britain. 
The fate of Dieskau is uncertain : the tradition of the sur- 
rounding country still says, that, being wounded in the bat- 
tle, and unable to retreat, he leaned against a tree ; a sol-= 
dier approached to seize him as a prisoner, but mistaking a 
movement which he made to take out his watch and offer it 
to his captor, for an attempt to raise a pistol, he shot him on. 
the spot. The unfortunate chief was conveyed, mortally 
wounded, to the camp, and expired on the bed of Johnston. 

The events of this dreadful day caused the immediate 
erection of Fort WiUiam Henry ; but they were not the last 
events of the same nature, of which this spot was to be the 
scene. As soon as the fortress was erected, the French be- 
came sensible of the necessity of reducing or destroying it> 
Accordingly, three attempts were made to take it ; but they 
all proved unsuccessful. In the year 1757, however, about 
two years after its erection, the Marquis de Montcalm, who 
then commanded the French army, determined to besiege it 
in form. In August of that year, he landed ten thousand 
men on the shore of the lake, and summoned the fortress to 
surrender ; the place where he landed is still pointed out, 
and the remains of his batteries are yet visible. He had a 
powerful train of artillery, and although the fort and works 



72 FOET WIlllAM HESTBT^ — FORT GEORGE. 

were garrisoned with three thousand men, and were most 
gallantly defended by the commander Colonel Monroe, it 
was obliged to capitulate : but the most honourable terms 
were granted to Colonel Monroe, in consideration of his 
gallantry. The bursting of the great guns, the want of am- 
munition, and above all, the failure of General Webb to 
succour the fort, although he lay idle at Fort Edward with 
four thousand men, were the causes of this catastrophe. 

The capitulation was however, most shamefully broken. 
The Indians attached to Montcalm's army, while the ti'oops 
were marching out at the gate of the fort, dragged the men 
from the ranks, parti culai-ly the Indians in the English ser- 
vice, and butchered them in cold blood ; they plundered all 
without distinction, and mm'dered women and little children 
with circumstances of the most aggravated barbarity. The 
massacre continued all along the road, through the defile of 
the mountains and for many miles, the miserable prisoners, 
especially those in the rear, being tomahawked and hewn 
down in cold blood. It mig-ht well be called the bloody defile, 
for it was the same ground that was the scene of the battles 
only two years before, in 1755. It is said, that efforts were 
made by the French to restrain the barbarians, but they were 
not restrained ; and the miserable remnant of the gan'ison 
with difficulty reached Fort Edward, pursued by the Indians, 
although escorted by a body of French troops. "I passed 
over the ground," says Mr. Sihiman, "upon which this tra- 
gedy was acted, and the oldest men of the country still re- 
member the deed of guilt and infamy." 

Fort William Henry was levelled to the ground by Mont- 
calm, and has never been rebuilt. Fort George was built as 
a substitute for it, on a more commanding site, and although 
often mentioned in the history of subsequent wars, was not 
the scene of any very memorable event.* 

It was the depot for the stores of the army of General Bur- 
goyne, till that commander relinquished his connection with 
the lakes, and endeavom'ed to push his fortunes, without 
depending upon his magazines in the rear. 

Nor are the historical recollections, which this spot revives, 
all that render it interesting to the traveller. The view from 
it, up the lake, is exceedingly beautiful. On the right, the 

* Silliman's Travels, 163, 



LAKE GEORGE. 7o 

mountain comes immediately down to the water, leavin^^ 
scarcely room for a few neat settlements, which stand prettily 
at its foot. On the left, the hills mount immediately from the 
plain, at the distance of about half a mile from the lake, but 
soon winding- around, project into it in a bold promontory; 
they are covered with a thick forest, which at the foot is 
formed of deciduous trees, intermixed with evergreens 5 but 
as they rise, pine, hemlock, spruce and fir, assume their pre- 
rogative, and clothe the summits with perpetual verdure. In, 
front, a number of beautiful wooded islands are seen ; and 
beyond them, the mountains, interlocking- for a g-reat distance 
in a variety of shades. 

We now enter Caldwell, the capital of Warren county, a 
flourishing- town, containing- about sixty houses, a printing" 
office, a neat church, and tlie public building's of the county. 
The hotel is larg-e, commodious and well furnished, so that 
travellers who visit the lake will not suffer for want of ac- 
commodation. It is named after James Caldwell, a g-entJc- 
man to whose liberalit}'' and public spirit it owes its existence, 
and who has conferred on the whole district inestimable be- 
nefits by his individual enterprise. 

After reposing- at nig-ht from the fatig-ues of a roug-ii and 
uncomfortable journey from Saratoga, the traveller should 
arise with the dawn of day, to behold the beautiful scenery 
of the lake, and sail for an hour on its placid bosom. It is 
hardly necessary for us to describe the enjoyment of such an 
excursion; but the description which has been given by a 
traveller, who seems to unite with a profound and accurate 
knowledge of the works of nature, a glowing perception of 
her beauties, and a peculiar felicity in depicting them, is so 
graphically coiTect, that we shall take the liberty of insert^ 
ing it. 

*'In the first gray of the morning," says Mr. Sillirnan, 
*'I was in the balcony of the inn, admiring the fine outline 
of the mountains by which Lake George is environed, and 
the masses of pure snowy vapour, which, unruffled by the 
slig-htest breeze, slumbered on its crystal bosom. During 
all the preceding days of the tour, there had not been a 
clear morning ; but now, not a cloud spotted the expanse of 
the heavens, and the sky and the lake conspired to exalt 
(jvery feature of this unrivalled landscape. 
G 



74 XAKE 6i:0HG£, 

" The morning came on with rapid progress ; but the 
woody sides of the high mountains, that form the eastern 
barrier, were still obscured by the lingering shadows of the 
night, although on their tops the dawn was now fully dis' 
closed, and their outline, by contrast with their dark sides, 
was rendered beautifully distinct ; while their reversed 
images, perfectly reflected from the most exquisite of all 
mirrors, presented mountains pendent in the deep, and ad- 
hering by their bases to those which at the same moment 
were emulating the heavens. 

"A boat had been engaged the evening before, and we 
now rowed out upon the water, and hastened to old Fort 
George, whose massy walls of stone, still twenty feet high, 
and in pretty good preservation, rise upon a hiU, about 
a quarter of a mile from the southern shore of the lake. I 
was anxious to enjoy, from this propitious spot, the advanc- 
ing glories of the morning, which, by the time we had 
reached our station, were glowing upon the mountain tops, 
with an effulgence that could be augmented by nothing but 
the actual appeai'ance of the king of day. 

" Now, the opposite mountains, those that form the west- 
ern barrier, were strongly illuminated down their entire de- 
clivity, while the twin bai-rier of the eastern shore, except 
on its ridge, was still in deep shadow. The vapour, wliich 
was just sufficient to form the softened blending of light and 
shade, v/hile it veiled the lake only in spots, and left its 
outline and most of its surface perfectly distinct, began to 
fonn itself into winrows,* and clouds and castles, and to re- 
cede from the water, as if conscious that its dominion must 
now be resigned. The retreat of the vapour formed a very 
beautiful part of the scenery; it was the moveable light 
drapery, which at first adorning the bosom of the lake, soon 
after began to retire up the sides of the mountains. At the 
distance of twelve or fourteen miles, the lake turns to the 
right, and is lost among the liighlands ; to the left is North- 
west Bay, more remote, and visible from the fort. The 
promontory, which forms the point of juncture between the 

* This possibly is an American word, meaning the rows of hay that are 
vaked toff^mer in a meadow, before the hay is thrown into heaps. It 
exactly describes the vapour, as it appeared in some places on the lake^ 
and I knew no other word that did. 



«! LAKE GEORGE, 7S 

lake and the bay, rises into lofty peaks and ridges, and forms 
in appearance the northern exti'emity of the lake. Up these 
mountains, which are even more grand and lofty than those 
along the margin, the vapour, accumulated by a very slight 
movement of the atmospliere from the south, rolled in im- 
mense masses, eveiy moment changing their form ; now 
obscuring the mountains almost entirely, and now veiling 
their sides, but permitting their tops to emerge, in uncloud- 
ed majesty. 

** Anxious to witness, from the surface of the lake, the 
first appearance of the sun's orb, we returned to our boat, 
and in a few moments reached the desired position. Oppo- 
site to us, in the direction towards the rising sun, was a place 
or notch, lower than the general ridge of the mountains, and 
formed by the intersecting curves of two declivities. 

*' Precisely through this place, were poured upon us the 
first rays, which darted down, in lines of burnished gold, 
diverging and distinct, as if in a diagram. The ridge of the 
eastern mountains was fringed with fire, for a mile. The 
nmnerous islands, so elegantly sprinkled through the lake, 
and which recently appeared and disappeared through the 
roUing clouds of mist, now received the direct rays of the sun, 
and formed so many gilded gardens. At last came the sun, 
* rejoicing in his strength,' and as he raised the upper edge 
of his burning disk into view, in a circle of celestial fire, the 
sight was too glorious to behold ; — it seemed, when the full 
orb was disclosed, as if he looked down with complac^sncy, 
into one of the most beautiful spots in this lower worldj and, 
as if gloriously representing his great Creator, he pronounced 
it *all very good.* I ccilainly never before saw the sun rise 
with so much majesty. I have not exaggerated the eifect^^ 
and, without doubt, it arises principally from the fact, that 
Lake George is so completely environed by a bariier of high 
mountains, that it is in deep shade, while the world around 
is in light; and the sun, already risen for some time, does not 
dart a single ray on this imprisoned lake, till, having gained 
considerable elevation, he bursts, all at once, over the fiery 
ridge of the eastern mountains, and pours, not a horizontal, 
but a descending flood of light, which instantly piercing the 
deep shadows that rest on the water, and on the western 
side of the eastern barrier, produces the finest possible effects 
of contrast. When the sun had attained a little height above 



<D hAKE GEOHGE. 

the mountain, we observed a curious eifect : a perfect cone 
of lig-ht, with its base towards the sun, lay upon the water, 
and from the vertex of the cone, which reached half across 
the lake, tliere shot out a delicate line of parallel rays, which 
reached the western shore ; and the whole very perfectly 
represented a gilded steeple. As this effect is opposite to 
the common form of the sim's effulg-ence, it must probably 
depend upon some peculiarities in the shape of the summits 
of the mountains at this place." 

The depth and transparency of the waters of Lake George 
are notorious. The traditional story of the people who reside 
on its shore, is, that in some parts it has no bottom ; but this 
opinion, which is common to every inland sheet of water, of 
more than ordinary depth, merely shows that it has probably 
]iever been sounded with any thing longer than the lines of 
tlie fishermen. Its transparency is remai'kable, and no tem- 
pest ever obscures it ; the fish may be distinctly seen bitmg 
the hooks, many fathoms beneath the surface. The cause 
of the transparency and purity of these waters is obvious. 
"With the exception of small quantities of transition limestone, 
its shores seem to be composed of primitive rocks, made up 
principally of silicious and other very firm and insoluble 
materials. The streams by which the lake is fed flow over 
similar substances, and the waves find nothing to dissolve, 
or to hold mechanically suspended. Clay, which abounds 
around the head waters of the contiguous lake (Champlain) 
and renders them turbid, scarcely exists here. 

The lake abounds in fish, and those of the finest kind ; 
bass and trout are usually preferred, and the salmon trout 
equal, if they do not excel, those which are elsewhere found; 
they attain a very large size, and frequently weigh from ten 
to twenty pounds. 

The mountains which suiTOund the lake are steep and 
rocky, and would afford the naturahst a fine field for obser- 
vation and research. They are all primitive, covered with 
wood, but unfit for cultivation, and inhabited only by deer, 
bears, wolves and rattlesnakes, the last of which are very 
numerous.* The echoes returned by the rocks, in some 

* " I was credibly infonned," says Mr. Silliman, " that a few years since, 
there Avas a man in this A-icinity, who had the singular power and the still 
stiangvr temerity to catch living rattlesnakes with his naked hands, with- 
out wounding tlie snakes, or being wounded by them. He used to accu' 



LAKE GEOBGE. 77 

places, are remarkably distinct ; and their wild projections, 
and jutting promontories, present a scene of beauty, for ever 
varying with the light, but always grand. 

The lake is crowded with little islands, which appear, co- 
vered with trees, to have risen as if by magic from the water, 
on which they seem to float. The one which is chiefly visit- 
ed, though perhaps it is not the most picturesque, is Diamond 
Island, about four miles from Caldwell, where the quartz 
ciystals are found. 

This small island, scarcely covering the area of a common 
kitchen garden, is inhabited by a family, who occupy a small 
but comfortable house, and constantly explore the rocks for 
crystals. These are found lining the cavities, and forming 
geodes in the limestone. These cavities are often brilliantly- 
studded with them ^ and doubtless it arose from their falling 
out, by the disintegration of the rock, that the crystals were 
formerly found on the shores of the island, and in the water. 
At present, they are scarcely obtained at all, except by 
breaking the rocks. The immediate matrix of the crystals 
seems to be a mixture of fine granular quartz with the lime= 
stone : it is impressible by steel, but sometimes does not 
effervesce with acidsj though generally it does, and feebly 
scratches glass. The crystals of this locality are of the 
common form, very limpid, and often contain a dark coloured 
substance imbedded in them. 

Lake George extends from Caldwell northward, about 
thii'ty-six miles, to the celebrated pass where Fort Ticonde- 
roga is built, one of tlie most important posts in the commu- 
nication between the United States and Canada, and which 
has been the scene of frequent contests. There the com- 
munication is reduced to a small strait, which has a rapid 
descent of two hundred feet in one mile, round which it is 
necessary to pass by land carriage. The strait continues 
twelve miles to Crown Point, another important fortress, 
w'here it empties into Lake Champlain, whence the passage 
by water is uninterrupted into the St. Lawrence. The navi- 
gation of Lake George is by means of rafts and flat boats of 
four or five tons burthen. 

mulate numbers of them in this manner, for curiosity or for sale, and for 
a longtime persisted uninjured in this audacious practice ; but at last the 
awful fate which all but himself had expected, overtook bjjio i he was 
bitten, and died." 

g2 



7o LAKE GEORGE. 

In returning from Lake George to Saratoga, or Albany, 
the traveller, instead of passing by the dreary road of Glenn's 
Falls, may diversify his journey, and take the route through 
Fort Jinne^ Sandy Hill, and Fort Edward. A description of 
these places will be found in a subsequent part of our 
volume. 



BOTJTE TO FALLS OF NIAGARA. ^ 79 



ALBANY TO THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 

M. M. 

Albany to Schenectady - . - . . 16 

Cross Mohawk River 

Haveley's Tavern -......- 5 21 

Groat's Tavern 8 29 

Cross Chuctenunda Creek to 

Amsterdam .-------.- 4 33 

Tripe's Hill 4 37 

Caughnawaga 5 42 

Johnson's Creek ---..... 1 43 

Connolly's Tavern 6 49 

Palatine Lower Bridge 8 57 

Palatine Upper Village - 4 61 

Palatine Chui'ch 6 67 

Oppenheim, on East Canada Creek - - 7 74 

Little Falls Village 7 81 

West Canada Creek - 5 86 

Herkimer --.,--...-- i 87 

Schuyler -- 6 93 

Cross Mohawk River to 

Utica .....-.-..-. 8 101 

Hartford - - - -- - 4 105 

Vernon - . - - 13 118 

Oneida Creek 5 123 

Canesaraga, on Canesaraga Creek - - 11 134 

Chitteningo River - 3 I37 

Manlius .-. g 143 

Jamesville, on Butternut Creek ... 6 149 

Onondaga Hollow, on Onondaga Creek 4 153 

West Hill 1 154 

Marcellus 9 163 

Skeneateless, outlet of Skeneateless Lake 6 169 

Auburn, outlet of Owasco Lake ... 8 177 

East Cayuga 8 185 

Cayuga Bridge, across Cayuga Lake - 1 186 

Seneca Falls 3 189 

Waterloo 4 193 

Geneva --». = ... = = - 6 199 



aoUTE TO FALLS OP NIAGASA — TO BUFFALO. 

M. M, 

Cross Canandaigua outlet to 

Canandaigua 16 215 

Bloomfield Church - - 8 223 

Honeoye Creek -------- 6 229 

Luna 3 232 

Avon 9 241 

Genesee River - - » = 1 242 

Caledonia 7 249 

Cross Allen's Creek to 

Le Roy - - - - 5 254 

Black Creek ---------- 5 259 

Batavia 7 266 

Tonnewanta Creek ------- 4 270 

Murder Creek - - - 10 280 

Cross Ellicott's Creek to 

WilliamsviUe . - 7 287 

Buffalo 19 306 

BlackRock 2 308 

Tonnewanta Creek -- 83 16 

Cayuga Creek- ----.-.- 6 322 

Falls of Niagara -- 5 327 



Albany to Buffalo fhy the Canal.J 

Albakt to 

Junction of Erie and Champlain Canals 8 

Lower Aqueduct over the Mohawk - - 4 12 

Wat Hoix Gap 3 15 

Fort's Feny - - 2 17 

Vischer's Ferry 2 19 

Upper Aqueduct over the Mohawk - - 5 24 

Schenectady --. 4 28 

Plattekill Aqueduct - - 5 33 

Chuctenunda Aqueduct 13 46 

Schoharie Creek and Guard-Lock - - 4 50 

Voorhees's, Lock No. 36 5 55 

Anthony's Nose and Mitchell's Cave - 6 61 

Canajoharie .---------6 67 

Guard-Lock, Otsquada Creek - . - - 3 70 



HOUTE TO BUFFALO. 

M. M. 

Nowadaga Creek 11 81 

Little Falls 5 86 

Gennan Flats 2 88 

Steel's Creek, Aqueduct and Feeder - 8 96 

Myers's Creek - - 2 98 

Long" Level commences - ... - 1 99 

Ferguson's Creek, Aqueduct - - - - 6 105 

Clark's Creek, Aqueduct ..--(- 1 106 

Utica ... = .. 2 108 

Sadaquada Aqueduct 3111 

Whitesborough -------- 1112 

Oriskany - = -,. 3 115 

Mansion-House, Rome - 8 123 

Wood Creek - - - - 3 126 

Smith's Verona - - 4 130 

Oneida Creek = . . 9 139 

Canastota „„-- 5 144 

New Boston ---- = .--- 4 14S 

Chitteningo Creek .... = -= 4 152 

Manlius Landing ---=..--. 81 60 

End of Long Level ------- 81 68 

Syracuse .-.. 1 169 

Geddes --------.•-- 2 in 

Otisco Aqueduct ..-.---. 6 177 

Canton -----.----- 6 183 

Jordan - - - 6 189 

Weed's Basin -..---.-. 6 195 

Bucksville --.-. = .-.. 3 198 

Montezuma ..-.-.-.-. 6 204 

Clyde ....»-. 11 215 

Lyons .......---- 9 224 

Newark -..-.----.. 6 230 

Palmyra . . - . 9 239 

Mud Creek, Aqueduct - = ---- 1 240 

FuUam's Basin - - - - 12 252 

Ilartwell's Basin 2 254 

Great Embankment over Irondequot Creek 2 256 

Pittsford 2 258 

Brighton - - - . 6 264 

Rochester ---------- 4 268 

King's Basin .--» = -^.- 6 274 



81 



^2 KOUTE TO BUFFALO — DEVIATION. 

M. M. 

Webber's Basin -.-».-.. 3 277 

Spencei-*s Basin 3 280 

Bates Village 3 283 

Brockport 4 287 

HoUey ... - 6 293 

Smithes Basin 6 299 

Sandy Creek Embankment ... - 3 302 

Newport ...-.-..-. 1 303 

Gaines's Basin ' 1 304 

Otter Creek Embankment 1 305 

Clark's Brook 2 307 

Arch Road-Way . - 3 310 

Oak Orchard Aqueduct - ..... 2 312 

Middleport 5 317 

Royalton Embankment . = ---- 5 322 

Lockport 9 331 

Sulphur Springs 5 336 

Pendleton 2 338 

Entrance of Tonnewanta Creek 

Leave Tonnewanta Creek ..-=.- 12 350 

Black Rock Harboui- . = --... 8 358 

Buffalo - - 4 362 



DEVIATION. 
By Canandaigua, Rochester, and Lewistowi^. 

Canandaigua to 

Mendon 15 

Pittsford ... - 7 22 

Rochester -..--.--.. 8 30 

Greece -,-. 5 35 

Parma -.-------.. 6 41 

Clarkson- . 7 48 

Sandy Creek 7 55 

Gaines --..------. 8 63 

Oak Orchard 7 70 

Hartland 14 84 

Cambrist - 11 95 

Xewistowx - - - - - --.- 15 110 



SCHENECTADY. 83 

AiBANj to the Palls of Niagara. 



After leaving* Albany, the first stage is sixteen miles to 
Schenectady. It is one of the most dreary rides in the world, 
being a deep sandy soil, covered with gloomy forests. For- 
merly, the road was very bad, from the depth of the sand ; 
but a good turnpike is now formed, which does great honour 
to the enterprise of the country. The ground is in general 
broken and sandy, and in its natural state extremely barren. 
The white pine, blended in places with the cedar, is the 
principal timber of the district, and spreads on either hand 
fur as the eye can reach over these broad plains — 



Undique solers, 



Arva coronantem nutrire Favencia pinum— • 

but on the margins of the streams, it is mixed with some 
white oak, black oak, and white birch, and with a few trees 
of red flowering maple. The water courses which cross the 
road flow north-east towards the Mohawk, and have some 
fine extensive farms upon their alluvial bottoms. 

Before reaching Schenectady, from a hill the traveller has 
a full view of the adjacent countiy. The tov/n itself, stand- 
ing on the fertile meadows of the Mohawk, presents a rich 
and lively picture, which is strongly contrasted with the 
barren scene we have just passed. 

In a geological point of view, according to Professor Eaton, 
the whole of this district belongs to the transition and se- 
condary formations: the argillite (or common slate) evidently 
underlays the whole. The graywacke overlays the argillite, 
and conceals it, in most of the middle and western parts of 
the countjr. No well-characterized red sandstone (freestone) 
or breccia, was found in place. Fragments however of the 
latter have been observed in the south part of the county, at- 
tached to large blocks of graywacke slate. The graywacke 
is often covered with shell limestone, which last is frequently 
overlayed by secondaiy sandstone, or rather, calcareous sand- 
stone. Large blocks of primitive rock are frequently found 
reposing on the soil, yet the above enumerated rocks are 
all that are found in place. These blocks were evidently 



84 SCHEITECTADT INDIAN MASSACRE. 

transported to this district from New-England, or some other 
primitive country, by causes which we shall not attempt to 
assign. 

The city of Schenectady is situated at the foot of the hills, 
and on the alluvial plain bounding the south side of the Mo- 
hawk, which is here about one hundred and fifty yards wide. 
It is laid out with greater regularity than most of the towns 
founded at the earliest periods of the settlement of New-York, 
and is now said to contain about three thousand inhabitants. 
Many of the buildings are large, expensive and elegant; and 
the situation is such as always to ensure to it the benefits of 
an extensive commerce with the rich and prosperous country 
through which the Mohawk spreads; nor have its inhabitants 
been backward in pursuing these advantag-es, but appear to 
carry on with enterprise a lucrative and increasing trade. 

Schenectady, like Albany, is an old town, which owes its 
origin to a fort built to protect the country from the inroads 
of the Indians, and as a frontier town recalls many facts of 
historical interest. On the 9th of February 1690, as we are 
informed by the tradition of the inhabitants, although history 
has fixed it on the 8th, a marauding party of French and 
Indians surprised the inhabitants before daylight in the morn- 
ing'. Aroused from their peaceful beds by the explosion of 
fire-arms, and the piercing yells of their savage enemies, an 
indiscriminate slaughter ensued. The mother and the babe, 
the husband and wife, the brother and sister, shared the 
same fate. A few escaped, and, almost naked, through frost 
and snow, carried the distressful tidings to Albany. 

This was one of the many and one of the most tragical 
of those savage border conflicts that have occurred, with 
some ijitervals, around our settlements, for upwards of two 
centuries. The history of our frontier still presents us, from 
time to time, with similar scenes of ferocious warfare ; but 
we trust that the period is rapidly approaching, when the 
tomahawk shall for ever be buried, and the red and the white 
man will know each other only as brothers. 

When the dreadful massacre at Schenectady was known 
at Albany, it struck terror into the citizens; they determined, 
in consternation and despair, to abandon their homes and all 
that was dear to them, rather than remain exposed to the 
inroads of their cruel foes. A number of Mohawk chieftains 
however, their friends and allies, immediately on learnhig 



SCHENECTADY — ^UNION COLLEGE. 85 

the sad event, hastened to consoleand animate them. They 
offered them tlieir aid; they incited them to honourable 
exertion. "Do not pack up and go away," they exclaimed; 
*' this will give courage to your dastardly er^emy ! Take 
heart ; we are resolute, as to our parts, to continue the v/ar. 
Our chain is a strong chain; it is a silver chain; it can neither 
rust nor be broken!" The whole speech has been preserved 
by Mr. Golden, in his History of the Five Nations ; and even 
at this distant period, it is impossible to read it without emo- 
tion, without respecting its affectionate sympathy, and ad- 
miring its magnanimous spirit, and without ranking it among 
the most respectable models of eloquence which history 
affords. 

The Mohawks however, then the most powerful tribe of 
a powerful nation, have now disappeared from the world ; 
and all that yet remains to attest their former existence, is 
the name of the beautiful stream upon which is situated the 
town of Schenectady. Its current, once stained with human 
gore, now flows, gentle, pure and steady, through the peace- 
ful settlements of the people whom they saved from de- 
struction. 

Schenectady is the seat of justice for the county of the 
same name, and as such contains the usual buildings neces- 
sary for courts of justice and prisons. It is also more ho- 
nourably remarkable, as having within its limits Union College, 
a respectable literary institution, incorporated in 1794, which 
took its name from the union of several religious societies 
in its formation. In 1785, a small academy, the first building 
in this city devoted to literary purposes, was erected by the 
Consistoiy of the Reformed Dutch Church, which, after the 
establishment of Union College, was presented to its trustees, 
and used as a grammar-school. Liberal donations from indi- 
viduals, amounting to upwards of thirty thousand dollars, 
raised a suite of edifices in the heart of the city, the principal 
one of which is nov/ used as a court-house. In 1814, the 
trustees disposed of these, and purchased a site on the rising 
grounds, a little east of the populous part of the city, and 
commenced the erection of a very extensive set of well-adapt- 
ed buildings. The situation is extremely well chosen, on a 
commanding eminence of gentle acclivity, embracing every 
convenience, and an extensive view of the surrounding coun- 
try. Two only of the college edifices are vet erected, each 
H 



S6 ERIE GANAL, 

two hundi'ed feet in length, four stories in height, of brlct, 
stuccoed in imitation of white granite. They stand in a line, 
six hundred feet asunder ; and, to complete the whole set, 
there are yet wanting- six other building-s. This institution 
sustains its high celebrity, and has now in the different classes 
two hundred and thirty-four students. It has a library of 
five thousand volumes, a museum, and a very excellent phi- 
losophical and chymical apparatus. Besides the President, 
there are three professors, a lecturer, two tutors and a re- 
gister. 

The Erie Canal passes through the town. The section 
of this w^ork between Schenectady and the Cohoes is very 
interesting 5 and indeed the passage from Albany is so much 
more agreeable than the ride over the barrens, that it may 
be recommended to travellers as the most eligible route. 
The canal, after leaving the Cohoes Falls, rises by four locks 
thirty-two feet, and passes for about two miles along the 
south shore of the Mohawk. At this point, the engineers of 
the state, courageous and enterprising as they were, felt dis- 
mayed at the difficulties they had to encounter. To continue 
along the southern bank of the river, was impossible 5 rocky 
precipices bounded it for nearly the whole length, and after 
numerous examinations, no practicable pass could be disco- 
vered. The bold plan of twice crossing the Mohawk was 
at length adopted, and this spot was selected for the eastern 
aqueduct. The canal therefore is here carried over the Mo- 
hawk, on a wooden trunk or aqueduct, eleven hundred and 
eighty-eight feet in length, supported by twenty -six piers, 
and abutments of stone. After passing the river, Wat Hoix 
Midge is seen on the right, and in about two miles we enter 
the celebrated gap of the same name. It is a singular natural 
ravine, varying in width from fifteen to eighty feet, and af- 
fording a remarkable passage for the canal, where it would 
have been impossible for art to have formed one. It is a 
scene of wild and romantic beauty, and forms one of the 
most interesting features on the whole passage. The Wat 
Hoix rapids, which are here seen in the Mohawk, are not 
above ten feet in descent ; they were called by the Indians, 
the White Horse, or Evil Spirit. Two miles farther, the old 
road from Albany to the Springs crosses the canal. At the 
twentieth mile stone from Albany, the canal passes through 
the deepest cutting on the whole line : it is not less than 



IjRIDGE OViift THE MOHAWK. 87 

thirty-two feet, and the soil is a transition argillite. After 
rising- by two locks of seven feet each, four miles bring us to 
the upper aqueduct across the Mohawk, where the line of 
canal is again changed to the southern bank : it is not so long 
as the lower one, being but seven hundred and forty-eight 
feet in length ; it is supported by sixteen piers, twenty -five 
feet above the water. There is here also a guard-lock and 
feeder of half a mile from the river, and a high bank of one 
hundred and thirty feet. In four miles more, we reach the 
city of Schenectady, through which the canal passes, and 
crosses diagonally in its course not less than eight of the 
streets. 

Leaving Schenectady, we cross the Mohawk on a fine 
wooden bridge of nine hundred and ninety-seven feet in 
length, built by Theodore Burr, a celebrated bridge archi- 
tect. Its formation, the principles of which are said to be 
entirely new, is on the following plan : four piers were erect- 
ed in the river, on the top of which the roadway passes; but 
in order to sustain this intermediately between the piers, 
instead of adopting the usual course of throwing an arch 
from one to the other, the architect has raised on the top of 
each a high frame-work ; between every two of these frames 
he has suspended an inverted arch, the lowest point of which 
descends to the roadway, at the middle point between the 
piers. From this inverted arch tlie platform of the road is 
supported by braces hanging perpendicular to it. The 
great disadvantage of such a bridge will be instantly per- 
ceived — ^its weakness at the centre of the arch ; and indeed 
that fault has occurred to a great degree in this very in- 
stance, for it has become necessary to cai'ry up an inter- 
mediate pier, across the whole river, to support the bridge 
at each point where the arch descends to the platform. 

Immediately after crossing the Mohawk, the road to Balls- 
ton strikes off to the right, while the great western road 
passes along the rich meadows or flats which bound the 
northern side of the river. These flats, it has with great 
probability been conjectured, were once the bottom of 
a vast lake ; and the rich alluvion of their soil forms a broad 
and fertile valley, through the midst of which the Mohav/k 
courses along, while its edges are bounded by the sterile 
sand-hills that are seen both on the north and south. 



88 AMSTEKDAM — TRIPE*S HILI. 

Five miles from Schenectady is Havely^s Taveriiy and eight 
miles more bring* us to Groat's. The country over which we 
pass becomes broken, and less fertile than that below. On 
this shore of the Mohawk, indeed, the banks often rise ab- 
ruptly and precipitously ; but on the south, they slope more 
gently from the stream, and present flourishing" farms, through 
which the great western canal winds along, scattering new 
riches at every point, and rewarding the enterprise that ef- 
fected it, by continued proofs of the benefits and advantages 
it has bestowed. On the hills, the pine tree still reigns, 
though the birch and oak are sometimes seen rising to con- 
test its sway; the chesnut, the walnut, the hickory and tulip 
tree, spread their more cheerful shade over the valleys. The 
river is about two hundred and fifty yards wide, and filled 
with islands, which follow each other in rapid succession. 
Sand and rounded pebbles form the superstratum, but 
schistose limestone appears projecting from the banks in a 
horizontal position, marking a secondary region. 

A country of similar featui'es continues for four miles far- 
ther, to the village of Amsterdam, though the horizontal or 
slaty limestone begins more generally to prevail. 

Amsterdam is a romantic village, containing about fifty 
houses, and placed on the western shore of the Ckudenunda 
creek, a stream which rises in Saratoga county, and rushes im- 
petuously over a ridge of limestone, one hundred and twenty 
feet in height, into the Mohawk. The cataract thus formed 
is in itself an object of great beauty; but, in addition to its 
effect in appearance, it affords in reality a site of peculiar 
excellence for the erection of mills. There are now in 
operation, within the distance of a hundred rods, a scythe 
manufactory, a clothier's works, and an excellent grist-mill 
and saw-mill. 

Four miles from Amsterdam, we arrive at Tripe's Hill, 
one of the most singular and difficult passes on the Mohawk. 
The hill rises abruptly, is high, sandy, and extremely painful 
in the ascent. There is no mode to avoid this inconvenience, 
as the bank of the river is an elevated ledge of rock, on the 
north side. The table-land is a sandy plain, and the descent 
from above is but httle less than the ascent from below. 
From the highest part of the hill, the mouth and valley of 
the Schoharie are in full view. The bottom of the Mohawk 



CAJfAUGHWAGA — JOHJTSTOWX. 89 

is here extensive, but extremely flat on the south side ; the 
Schoharie is seen meandering over this plain, in its course 
from the hills to the river. The bottoms appear extremely 
fertile, but are subject to occasional inundation, and from 
their undeviating level, the crops must suffer great. injmy 
when these accidents occur. 

Five miles from Tripe's Hill is the village of Caughnawaga, 
situated near the junction of the Cayadutta with the Mohawk, 
and containing about forty houses, a Dutch Reformed church, 
a post-office and school-house. It was the principal town of 
the Mohawk Indians, one of the most warUke and powerful 
tribes of the aborigines. Uniting with the Oneidas, the 
Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senfecas, they formed the 
celebrated confederacy of the Iroquois, or Five Nations. 
The name signifies *a coffin,' and it is said to have been 
given to the place from a large black stone, shaped like a 
coffin, and still seen, at low water, in the bed of the Mohawk?^ 
or it may be, from the perils to which the light barques of 
the Indians were here exposed, in their passage down the 
river.* 

About foiu" miles to the north of Caughnav/aga is JohnS' 
toivriy the capital of Montgomery county. It contains about 
one thousand inhabitants, is well laid out, and, besides the 
county buildings, has several churches and other pubhc edi- 
fices. The soil of the county is generally a stiflT argillaceous 
loam, or brownish grit mould, variously combined with vege- 
table remains, and in some parts running into black muck ; 
there are tracts also of sandy alluvion. 

About three quarters of a mile from Johnstown, and beau- 

* « Of this name, as of many others of Indian origin, it may be here 
remarked, that the orthography, which seems to come the nearest to the 
pronunciation, according to the ear or fancy of one person, may not do so 
to that of another. There is no such thing as a rule applicable to cases 
of this kind, only to simplify the word, and modernize it, so far as may 
be consonant with a due preservation of etymology. There are few, per- 
liaps no Indian sounds or words, which different persons would represent 
by the same English letters. The difficulty is also farther increased by 
the synonymaof rude dialects. In that of the Mohawks, the same expres- 
sion is used for coffin, death, destruction, &c., and they have traditions of 
many lives being lost on this rock, now not m the mam channel, and only 
visible at low water. In lilie manner, they use one and the same expres- 
sion for youth, morning, spring, east, &c. To my ear, hearing an old 
Mohawk speak Cahnawaga, his expression seems tome better representeQ 
by these letters than by adding n^.'^—Spafford's Gazetteer, 258. 

h2 



90 THE KLIP3E. 

tifully situated on a fine rising* ground, commanding a charm- 
ing view of the surrounding country, is the Hall erected by 
Sir William Johnston in 1773, and in which he resided to 
the time of his death. He was the proprietor of the sur- 
rounding district, and a man of great energy and enterprise. 
The court-couse, the gaol, and the Episcopal church in which 
his bones still repose, were built by him, by means of an as- 
sessment levied on the district to furnish a certain quantity of 
stone, a tax paid without difficulty. It was here that Colonel 
Willet, on the 25th October, 1781, with four hundred undis- 
ciplined militia and sixty Indians, defeated a body of British 
and Indians amounting to six hundred men. 

To the north-west*" of Caughnawaga, a high ridge or hill, 
called the Klipsey extends across the country in a south- 
westerly direction, as far as the Mohawk. Its name is a 
Dutch word, signifying a rock, or rocky ledge ; and it is 
formed of silicious and calcareous sandstone, with bare sides, 
oftentimes singularly precipitous. As it approaches the river, 
it slopes down to it, from an elevation of probably five hun- 
dred feet, and is in its shape no bad imitation of a gigantic 
nose, from which it has received its name o? Anthony's Nose, 
This mountain once crossed the present channel of the river 
at this place, in the bed of which may be traced the bare 
rock, running obliquely from shore to shore. It is merely 
the eastern front of a lofty rampart of hills and mountains, or 
an elevated plain from which hills and mountains rise, spread- 
ing westward beyond the Little Falls, and extending from 
Otsego county, a spur of the Catskill mountains, across a 
part of Montgomery and Herkimer counties, and far north- 
ward. At this spot may be seen indubitable evidence of the 
great power of water, and that the stream which now flows 
so gently has at some former time burst through this immense 
rocky barrier, and worn it down to what it now appears. At 
Dachsteder'Sy just below, there is an alluvial plain of one mile 
in length, and half a mile wide, composed at the upper end 
of coarse gravel, and rounded pebbles, much water-worn, 
growing finer as we proceed, and all its sand placed at the 
lower end. It is well worth examining, and has, besides, 
some interesting Indian antiquities. " The time has been,** 
says Mr. Spafford, **in my opinion, when this valley of the 
Mohawk was traversed by a stream immensely greater than 



MITGHELL^S CAVE — LOWER AISTD TIPPER PALATIJiTE. 91 

at the present day, a remark equally applicable to the 
Hudson, At some period or other, those hills have formed 
the eastern bamer of a vast lake, extending westward far 
over the summit-level of Rome, and the region about the 
Oneida lake. Possibly this may have been at a time when 
the surface of Lake Ontario was a hundred or more feet 
higher than at the present day, and when the valley of the 
Hudson, and of the lower part of the Mohawk countiy, was 
all a vast lake from above the Highlands." 

On the south shore of the river, opposite to the Khpse, in 
the township of Canajohwie, this mountain agiin rises, and 
forms a promontory which is also called the Nose. In the 
neighbouring cliffs, several natural caverns have been dis- 
covered. In the simimer of 1821, a party of gentlemen 
undertook to explore the largest, called Mitchell's Cave. 
They descended about five hundred feet, and found as many 
as thirteen or fourteen apartments, and in several of them 
stalactites. The cavern, indeed, seems worthy of more re- 
gular and scientific investigation. 

From Caughnawaga to Palatine Lower Village, is fifteen 
miles. The road passes generally over the meadows, along 
the river, which however are narrow, and soon terminated 
on the north by steep and rocky ridges, of secondary forma- 
tion. The south bank, too, which has hitherto presented a 
broad and fertile bottom, now becomes more rocky and ab- 
rupt. The land, however, is rich and fertile ; the timber is 
large and good ; the sugar-maple, a sui'e sign of a fine soil, 
flourishes luxuriantly, and the other trees are such as indi- 
cate an extremely favourable one. The rock strata are schis- 
tose limestone and sandstone, alternately overlaying each 
other. 

Passing Palatine Upper Village, four miles farther on, and 
six miles above it. Palatine Church, we arrive in seven miles 
more at the village of Oppenheim, at the mouth of East Ca- 
nada creek. The appearance of the country does not greatly 
vary; the valley or flat land now spreads out on the northern 
shore, but precipitous cliffs are frequently seen. The soil 
is everywhere fertile ; that along the river bank, a rich allu- 
vion — that of the adjacent uplands, an argillaceous loam, 
rather heavy, but very productive. Quartz, calcareous spar, 
and a dark brown hornstone, are found ; and about Palatine, 



92 OfPENHEIM — ilTTLE TALIS. 

anthracite, and quartz crystals containing it, have been ob- 
served. 

The village of Oppenheim contains little worthy of remark. 
It was settled at an early period before the revolution, by 
Germans, who named it after a town in tlieir native land ; 
and it was, like the rest of the surrounding country, exposed 
to devastation and injury during the revolutionary war. East 
Canada Creek^ on which it is situated, is the boundary be- 
tween Montgomery and Herkimer counties. It rises in the 
northern part of Montgomeiy, on the table-lands, from which 
some of the tributary streams of the Hudson also flow, and 
presents, like them, from its rapid descent, many excellent 
situations for the establishment of mills. 

From Oppenheim, seven miles bring us to the village of 
Little Falls. The vale of the Mohawk again deserts us, and 
we pass over high hills, while the southern shore slopes 
gradually away, chequered with farms and forests, amid 
which tlie sugar -maple is conspicuous. 

The village of Little Fails is a flourishing place, containing 
upwards of a hundred houses, stores, shops, &c., and a 
church and scliool-house. It derives its name from one of 
the most interesting scenes which the traveller has yet be- 
held — ^the falls or rapids of the Mohawk, called littky in com- 
parison with the bolder cataract of the Cohoes, but not less 
interesting, from their scenery, and natural phenomena. We 
cannot inti'oduce them to the traveller in better language 
than that of Mi\ Clinton, a gentleman whose capacious mind 
embraces at once the depths of moral and political science, 
a patriotic ardour in the pursuit of every tiling which can 
add to the domestic interests of his country, and a know- 
ledge of the wonderful works of nature, united with a strong 
perception of their beauties. 

" The Little Falls on the Mohawk river," says Mi". Clinton, 
in his introductory discourse, ** in connection with the sur- 
rounding country, exhibit a very interesting aspect. As you 
approach the falls, the river becomes narrow and deep, and 
you pass through immense rocks, principally of granite, in- 
terspersed with limestone. In various places, you observe 
profound excavations in the rocks, made by the agitation of 
pebbles in the fissures, and in some places the river is not 
more than twenty yards wide. As you approach the western 



1.1TTI.E FAILS. 93 

extremity of the hills, you find them about half a mile distant 
from summit to summit, and at least three hundi'ed feet high. 
The rocks are composed of granite, and many of them are 
thirty or forty feet thick : and the whole mountain extends 
at least half a mile from east to west. You see them, piled 
on each other like Ossa on Pelion, and in other places, huge 
fragments scattered about, indicating a violent rupture of 
the waters through this place, as if they had been formerly 
dammed up, and had formed a passage; and in all directions 
you behold great rocks, exhibiting rotundities, points and 
cavities, as if worn by the violence of the waves, or hurled 
from their ancient positions. 

**The general appearance of the Little Falls indicates the 
former existence of a great lake above, connected with the 
Oneida lake ; and as the waters here forced a passage and 
receded, the flats above were formed, and composed several 
thousand acres of the richest land. Rome being the highest 
point on the lake, the passage of the waters on the east side 
left it bare ; the Oneida lake gradually receded on the west 
side, and formed the great marsh or swamp now suiTounding 
the waters of Wood creek. The physiognomy of the coun- 
try, from the commencement of Wood creek to its termina- 
tion in the Oneida lake, confirms this hypothesis. The west- 
erly and north-westerly winds continually drive the sand of 
the lake towards the creek, and you can distinctly perceive 
the alluvion increasing eastwardly by the accumulation of 
sand, and the formation of new ground. Near the lake you 
observe sand without trees, then to the east a few scattering 
trees; and as you proceed in that direction, the woods thick- 
en. The whole country, from the commencement to the 
termination of Wood creek, looks like made ground. In 
digging the canal in Wood creek, pine trees were found 
twelve feet deep. An old boatman, several years ago, said 
that he had been fifty years in that occupation, and that the 
Oneida lake had receded half a mile within his memory. 
William Colbreath, one of the first settlers at Rome, in dig- 
ging a well, found a large tree at the depth of twelve feet. 
This great lake, breaking down in the first place the barriers 
which opposed the progress of its waters to the east, and 
then gradually receding to the west, is a subject well de= 
serving of minute investigation," 



94 . LlTl'lK FAXLS* 

This idea, that the Little Falls were once the eastern bar- 
rier of a vast lake, is confirmed by the levels which have 
been taken in forming the Erie canal. It has been ascertain- 
ed that the Falls hill, on the south side, is seven hundi'ed 
and twelve feet above the level of the tide, and that a dam 
at the Falls, of fifty feet, would raise the water over all the 
country, as far as the Oneida lake. That such a dam did 
once exist, is evident from the rocks which rise on either 
side, and marks of water far above fifty feet are distinctly 
visible. 

The Little Falls present a curious geological fact, which 
should not be passed unnoticed. The country, all the way 
from Albany to Utica, is a transition formation ; but at this 
point, a spur of the primitive comes down from the mountains 
which compose the great primitive region in the north-west 
part of the state : a similar spur crosses the Mohawk below, 
at the Nose ; and these two are the only deviations from the 
uniform transition formation which we have just mentioned. 
These ridges are chiefly made up of gneiss rock, whose lay- 
ers are frequently almost horizontal, being rarely much in- 
clined. It seems to be what Cleaveland calls ** the more 
recent variety;" and often contains but little felspar or mica. 
Sometimes it passes in an almost pure quartzose sandstone, 
and frequently passes gradually into sihcious limestone. 
The gneiss rocks which are seen while passing the Noses 
and Little Falls, present a red and orange tinge. This is 
caused by the decomposition of iron pyrites on the exposed 
surfaces, and the production of sulphate of iron. A fresh 
fracture will prove that this is not the natural colour of the 
rock. These rocks generally consist of large square and 
oblong blocks, set in layers of great extent. Slaty layers 
are frequently interposed, however, which have the appear- 
ance of mica slate. Many of these blocks are broken off, 
and widely scattered over the adjoining country. Near Pala- 
tine, where the soil is thinly spread over the metalliferous 
lime-rock, these blocks or boulders almost hide the face of 
the field ; but they are concealed by the deep alluvion, in 
the low intervals. 

But fev/ minerals are found in these gneiss rocks. Iron 
pyrites, petrosilex, and scales of plumbago, were observed 
by Mr. Eaton, in his accurate survey. 



LITTLE FALLS— EHIE CANAL. 95 

Before leaving the Little Falls, we must turn our attention, 
for a moment, to the scenery of the spot, the beauties of 
nature, and the beauties of art. The native scenery is wild 
and striking- : the river, pent in by rugged and fantastic 
rocks, seems to have formed for itself a trench through. them. 
Huge and misshapen fragments of granite are heaped upon 
each other, overgrown and interspersed with maple, elm, 
hemlock and pine 5 the water foams, and roars over amid the 
interstices, while above them it flows silently and placidly 
along ; still beyond, and stretcliing to the west, are seen the 
German Flats, rich in forest, in farms, and in every varied 
scene of fertile culture. 

Of late years, art has added her attractions. The Erie 
canal, com'sing, as we have mentioned, along the south bank 
of the Mohawk, is here conducted with great skill, as it were 
along the veiy bed of the river; it rises at this place rapidly, 
and has no less than five locks in one mile, to bring it to the 
level of the country above. But this is not all. The canal 
is here connected with an old one, formed many years since 
on the northern bank, to improve the navigation of the natu- 
ral stream, by an aqueduct of great beauty. It has three 
arches ; an elliptical one in the centre, of seventy feet span, 
embracing the whole stream when it is not above its ordinary 
level, and one on either side of fifty feet span each, forming 
a segment of a circle. By this aqueduct, the canal is raised 
thirty feet above the surface of the river, which foams and 
dashes over the rocks below. Its design was chiefly formed 
by Mr. Canvass White, a young gentleman, whose talents 
and acquirements as an engineer have placed him in the 
highest rank in his profession ; and whose taste will suffer 
no injury from the early specimen he has here given of it. 

On leaving Little Falls, the road passes along the valley of 
the Mohawk. The level surfiice of the country is however 
often varied by the points of high land, which, running down 
to the river, raise the road to considerable elevations. From 
these the views are beautiful : the Mohawk, stealing quietly 
along at our feet, with boats from time to time floating slowly 
on its surface ; meadows and farms, green with luxuriant 
herbage, or yellow beneath the ripe harvest 5 the canal, 
bending round the winding course of the stream, and pro- 
montories of the hills, or rising above them — -and the hills 
themselves, crowned with forests, bounding the prospects 



96 feEBMAN PLATS-»WEST CANADA CHEBK, 

All that creation's varying mass assnmes, 
Of grand or lovely, here aspires and blooms ; 
Bold rise the mountains, rich the gardens glow, 
Bright lakes expand, and conquering rivers flow. 

On the south shore of the Mohawk, extends the large alluvial 
tract, known by the name of the German Flats, and cele- 
brated for its great fertility. The soil, evidently an alluvial 
deposit, is extremely productive, and it was chosen by the 
German colonists at a very early period: but its very fertility, 
added to its frontier situation, made it the scene of much 
cruelty and devastation in earher times, in the war between 
the colonies and their French and Indian neighbours. To 
a contemplative wanderer, who looks down upon these plains, 
the associations must be strange ; he will indeed be struck 
with the vicissitudes of things, not on the narrow scale in 
which the ordinary changes of the world would strike him, 
but on that vast scale which Nature presents, when we com- 
pare her works, after long and distant periods of time. Here 
was once a mighty lake, or inland sea, before the barriers 
at the Little Falls were broken down — then followed a 
dreary waste — centuries after, our forefathers found a thick 
forest, inhabited by a savage race — this race disappeared 
before the efforts of civihzation, and farms and villages arose 
— yet, only for a moment ; war again laid waste the countiy 
which industry had reclaimed — that war has passed away; 
the savage enemy is unknown but by tradition, or the occa- 
sional visit of some of his degenerate descendants; and 
churches, schools, villages and farms, denote the residence 
of peace and plenty through the land. Yet who can tell how 
long tliis scene is to last ? It may be one of long duration, 
or it may be one which shall soon be shifted, to give room 
to others, as unexpected and as various as those which have 
preceded it. 

From the Little Falls to JVest Canada Creek, is five miles. 
This stream, like its namesake, rises in the ridge of moun- 
tains to the north-west, and flowing with considerable descent 
into the Mohawk, is well adapted to manufacturing establish- 
ments. Its whole course is about sixty miles : rising in the 
wild ti'act of evergreen swamps, which abound in this quai'- 
ter, its course is little known, till it arrives near the confines 
of Oneida county ; here it meets a range of hills, tlu'ough 



TRENTON FALtS HEHKIMER. 97 

wiiicli it has worn a devious course, passes several falls, and 
emerg-es into a better country, clothed with deciduous forest 
trees. The road from the Little Falls to Lewis county, passes 
tliis stream at Trenton Falls, a beautiful cataract of great 
elevation, immediately below which is a bridge of ninety feet 
span. This fall is a mass of cascades, of unequal height; and 
all<;ombined form one of the most picturesque views that 
can be imagined. About two miles below, is another fall, 
of about a hundred feet, within a few rods, which perhaps 
surpasses the upper one, in height and sublimity. From 
this cataract to the Mohawk, are many rapids and falls, its 
whole com-se being through the hilly country, described as a 
continuation of the Catskill hills. A short distance above its 
entrance into the Mohawk, a large grist-mill, a saw -mill and 
distillery, have lately been erected, supphed with water by a 
dam of curious construction, quite across the creek, and which 
forms itself a beautiful cascade, a few rods above the turn- 
pike bridge. The dam is composed of stone and brushwood, 
gravelled, and was erected at an expense far less than that of 
similar works on any other construction. On the east side of 
the creek, a few miles above, bog iron ore has lately been dis- 
covered, from which considerable expectations are formed. 
In a range of sand-rock near this creek, Professor Hadley 
collected more than half a bushel of most elegant limpid 
crystals of quartz, with pyramids on both ends of all the 
prisms. 

Crossing the creek, a mile farther brings us to the village 
of Herkimer, situated on an alluvial but elevated plain, com- 
posed of pebbles, clay and sand. The buildings in the town, 
though principally of wood, are well arranged. It contains 
about a hundred houses, stores, &c. the county buildings, 
and a handsome church, with a steeple and spire of one hun- 
dred and forty feet in height. The surrounding country is 
well cultivated, and the timber fine ; the sugar maple, the 
elm, the white walnut, the oak, the ash and the hickory, 
abounding on the hills and valleys. 

In six miles, we pass the small and unimportant village of 
Schuyler, and thence continue through a flat country, whicli, 
though not so well cultivated as that we have left, is rich, 
and covered with noble forests. The soil, which affords 
strong marks of its having been once overflowed, is com- 
posed of sand, loam and round pebbles. 
I 



98 XJTICA— ERIE CA5fAL» 

As we approach Utica, eight miles from Schuyler, the ap- 
pearance of the country g-reatly improves. We enter it on 
the north, partly by a very bad road, and partly by a cause- 
way, which is well made, and cross the Mohawk into it by a 
good bridge. 

Utica is built on the site of old Fort Schuyler, and stands 
upon the south bank of the Mohawk, in the county of Oneida, 
in latitude 43° & north. It is said to possess a great amount 
of commercial capital, and to have made immense sums by 
trade. It is adorned with many edifices, public and private, 
of good taste in architectural design, and is enriched by seve- 
ral very excellent establishments, one of which is a Lyceum, 
a young institution, with a hundred members. Utica has 
properly but two banks, the bank of Utica and a branch of 
the bank of Ontario; and the bank of Utica itself has a branch 
in Ontario. In 1794, Utica had one very small tavern in a 
log house, and there were then but two or three other build- 
ings in the place, mere log huts. Its population is now near- 
ly five thousand ; and it contains seven churches, a court- 
house, one free and sixteen other schools, an office of the 
Supreme Court of the state ; and terms of that court, and of 
the United States' Circuit Court, are held here. From Utica, 
roads diverge in every direction, and public conveyances are 
to be found for almost every part of the state. An innkeep- 
er, at whose door fifteen stages now stop daily, carried, not 
more than twenty years since, the solitary and weekly mail 
in his coat-pocket from here to Albany.* 

The Canal passes through the centre of Utica. Its course, 
since we left it at the Little Falls, has continued to wind 
along the southern margin of the Mohawk. In about nine 
miles from that place, it rises by five Iqcks forty -one feet, and 
soon after passes two creeks, Fulmer's and Steel's, on small 
aqueducts. It then ascends in two miles twenty-four feet 
more, and at the village of Frankford the Long Level com- 
mences. This noble stretch of canal is seventy miles in 
length, extending westward, through Utica, Whitestown, 
Rome, &c. nearly to Syracuse. About two miles before it 
enters Utica, it is carried across Clark's creek, on an aque- 
duct of four arches. 

* Views of Society in America, p. 173<. 



HTDRAtJLlC LOCK. 99 

In order to ascertain with accm'acy the amount of freight 
with which the boats navigating- the canals are loaded, so as 
to ensure the collection of the full amount of tolls, and to 
detect and prevent any frauds upon the revenue, a hydrosta- 
tic lock has been constructed at Utica. It is formed with a 
chamber, sufficiently large to receive any boat used on the 
canals. The chamber is on the same level with the canal, 
and is filled from it by a paddle-gate, which is fixed in a 
large gate. On a level below the chamber, is a receptacles 
into which, by a gate, the chamber can be emptied, and from 
this through another gate the water may be discharged. The 
gates are made as accurate as possible, to prevent leakage ; 
and although they cannot be made perfectly tight, yet if 
they are equally so, the result will be the same, as the loss 
at the one will be compensated by the gain at the other. 

When it is designed to ascertain the weight of a loaded 
boat, the chamber is first filled by the opening of the paddle- 
gate, after which the large gate is opened, the boat is moved 
from the canal into the chamber, and the gates closed behind 
it. The depth of the water in the chamber is then carefully 
ascertained, by means of a ntetallic rod, gi*aduated into feet, 
tenths, and hundredths of a foot ; and the cubic content of 
the water, with the boat floating in it, is at once obtained 
from a table constructed for the purpose, and adapted to the 
graduations of the rod. 

Suppose the column of water in the lock, in which the 
boat is afloat, is eighty-five feet long, fifteen wide, and four 
feet deep ; then by multiplying the length, width and depth 
of this column into each other, its contents in cubic feet are 
obtained. Thus, 85x15X4=5100 cubic feet of water, in- 
cluding what is called the flotation bulk of the boat, or in 
other words, including the contents of the volume of water 
displaced by the boat. The water is then drawn ofl" into 
the receptacle, and the boat settles down upon timbers, so 
arranged as to yield to its shape, by which it is supported, 
without being strained or injured. The quantity of water 
drawn from the lock is then ascertained by the graduated 
rod. Suppose the water in the receptacle measures thirty 
feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and five feet deep 5 these, 
midtiplied into each other, as before, will produce three 
thousand seven hundred and fifty cubic feet. It is a principle 
in hydrostatics, that every body which floats in water dh' 



100 HYDHAtTLIC lOCK BEOLOGT. 

places a volume of this fluid precisely equal in weight to 
the floating body. It appears from the above, that the water, 
with the loaded boat floating in it, contained five thousand 
one hundred cubic feet, and that the same water, drawn ofF_ 
and measured separately, contained three thousand seven 
hundi-ed and fifty cubic feet, which, subtracted from the 
preceding, will give one thousand three hundred and fifty 
cubic feet of water, displaced by the loaded boat : and as a 
cubic foot of fresh water weighs one thousand ounces avoir- 
dupois, or sixty-two and a half pounds, it foUows, that 
1350 X 62| = 843r5 is the weight of the loaded boat. This 
is to be reduced to tons, and the weight of the empty boat, 
previously ascertained in the same manner, is to be deduct- 
ed, and the remainder will be the weight of the cargo. After 
an empty boat has once been weighed, she is numbered, and 
her weight is registered at the several hydrostatic locks. 

The soil around Utica is underlayed, in the opinion of Pro- 
fessor Eaton,* with graywacke rock ; but the alluvion is too 
deep to permit an examination of it. From the dii'ection of 
this stratum, it being almost horizontal, or a very gradually 
descending inclined plane, we are authorized to form this 
conjecture — that the graywacke underlays, at no great depth, 
all the western part of the state of New-York; that is, a depth 
not exceeding six or eight hundred feet, or perhaps consi- 
derably less. The graywacke, which lies west of the Little 
Falls ridge of gneiss, forms the north-eastern limit of the 
secondary formation. It runs along about two or three miles, 
south-westerly from the Mohawk ; about the same distance 
south of the west branch of Fish creek, and the same dis- 
tance south of the general course of Salmon river, until it 
meets the south-east comer of Lake Ontario. The beds of 
the Mohawk, the Salmon, and that branch of Fish creek, are 
chiefly upon or over this rock, as far as it forms the boundary 
of the secondary district. This belt of graywacke will ave- 
rage about eight or ten miles in breadth, between the metal- 
liferous lime-rock and the secondary formation, from near the 
Little Falls to Lake Ontario. 

Leaving the vaUey of the Mohawk, and the canal on its 
banks, far to the right, we now ascend into a higher region. 
For a short distance around Utica, the same appearance of 

* Geological Survey, p. 85, 



STEW-HARTFORD PARIS. 101 

fertility and prosperity presents itself, as when approaching 
it from the east ; but this does not last long — the country 
soon assumes a rougher aspect than the traveller has yet 
beheld, and girdled and falling trees, log houses and thick 
forests, convince him that he has arrived at a newly settled 
district. Owing to some disputed claims in the land titles, 
the progress of settlement and cultivation has been less rapid 
here, than even farther west ; but they are now resuming 
their wonted pace, and from the top of many an eminence, 
we look down upon woods rapidly yielding to the axe of the 
settler, and fields which will not long bear even the marks 
of their present wildness. 

Foiu' miles from Utica, bring us to the village of New- 
Hartford. It is situated at the junction of the Genesee 
tiu-npike with the road to Oxford, and carries on a consider- 
able trade. Within what are considered its limits, there arc 
seventy dwelling houses, three churches, a grammar-school, 
a school-house, thirteen buildings used as stores and mecha- 
nics' shops, in one of which ingrain and damask carpeting are 
made, with much other weaving, in various branches : there 
are also an extensive cotton factory, a grist-mill, two cloth 
factories, a nail factory, an oil-mill, a paper-mill, a tin and hat 
manufactory, and various other works. Sadaquada^ or, as it is 
pronounced, Sauquait creek, which passes by this village, is 
about ten miles in length, rising in Oneida county, and enter- 
ing the Mohawk at Whitestown. It seldom rises above its 
banks, and is celebrated for the excellence of the trout found 
in its waters. In its short course, it drives the machinery of 
eight cotton factories, three woollen factories, eight grist- 
mills, fourteen saw-mills, seven fulling and carding works, 
one nail factoiy, one clover-mill, two oil-mills, two paper- 
mills, two bark-mills, one blastfurnace, and one trip-hammer. 

A road to the left from New-Hartford leads to the village 
of Paris, which has a post-office, three churches, and about 
forty houses. It derives its name, as does the whole town- 
ship, from an act of singular benevolence, which was well 
deserving of perpetual remembrance. In the year 1789, 
there was a great scarcity, and the farmers and adventurous 
settlers in this, at that time, wild and remote district, were 
reduced to great distress. In this dreadful emergency, Mr. 
Isaac Paris, a merchant at Fort Plain on the Mohawk, came 
forward to relieve and aid them. He suppUed them with 

j2 



102 RAMILTON COLLEGE VERNOST. 

Virginia com, on a liberal credit, and received in payment 
whatever they could procure ; gave them the necessaries of 
life, and alleviated their distress. The grateful inhabitants, 
with a unanimous voice, when the town was erected, gave it 
the name of Paris ; 

Et nunc servat honos sedem tuam, ossaque nomen 
■ si qua est ea gloria, signat. 

After leaving New-Hartford, the road passes for seven 
miles to Westmoreland, o\e.v a fine country, with gentle un- 
dulations and improving farms. A few miles to the left, is 
Hamilton College^ a flourishing literary institution, placed on 
a noble eminence, from which it looks down on the villages 
and farms spread over the valleys below. It is a building of 
stone, fifty feet by ninety-six, four stories high, each divided 
into eight square rooms, two halls, and sixteen lodging-rooms. 
The corner-stone was laid by Baron Steuben, one of the 
noble and generous foreigners who embarked life and fortune 
in the cause of our youthful freedom, and whom the succes- 
sive generations that shall receive the advantages of educa- 
tion in this institution, will continue to honom* through dis- 
tant ages. Iron ore abounds in this district, and is exten- 
sively worked into iron. Strata of silicious and calcareous 
stones are found, and easily quarried; and Mr. Silliman men- 
tions sulphuret of lead and zmc, among the minerals of the 
neighbourhood. 

Six miles farther is Vernon, a village containing about one 
hundred houses, two churches, a post-office, and several 
manufacturing establishments, and presenting the appearance 
of a busy, thriving town. Among the minerals contained in 
the cabinet of the Albany Institute, are specimens of lenticu- 
lar argillaceous oxyde of iron, obtained at this place. 

Five miles beyond Vernon, we reach Oneida Creek, the 
boundary between the county of the same name and Madi- 
son. The geological featm-es of the former, through which 
the road has passed ever since we left Utica, will be interest- 
ing to the scientific traveller; and the researches of the intel- 
ligent Professor Eaton enable us accurately to describe them. 
All the hills of this district, including that on which Hamilton 
College stands, are made up chiefly of ferriferous sand-rock; 
and the valuable iron mines in Westmoreland, Paris, &c. are 
mostly embraced in it. In some of the mines, the iron ore 



GEOXOGT. 103 

alternates several times with the rock, and often appears in 
irreg-ular beds, differing in extent and thickness. In some 
places, we find the ferriferous slate-rock underlaying the 
whole ; and in a few places, it alternates with the sand-rock. 
All the varieties of both rocks, in all positions, with the len- 
ticular and jaspery varieties of ore, are best exhibited in 
Mr. Laird's ore -bed, in the south-west corner of Westmore- 
land, eleven and a half miles west of Utica. Here marine 
and fresh water petrifactions have been found, both in the 
ore and in the sand-rock. Not far to the east of Vernon, 
the red slate appears with the red sand-stone, in consider- 
able proportion ; and here the first salt spring occurs. It 
issues from the upper surface of the rock, on the west side 
of the Skanando creek, whose banks consist of the soft red 
saliferous slate, beautifully spotted with nodules of green 
slate, resembling ferriferous slate. Four or five miles farther 
west, and about a mile beyond Vernon, carburetted hydrogen 
gas issues from beneath the same red rock, in great quanti- 
ties. It would at least seem to be the same rock, because 
from the wells and other appearances it is evidently the prin- 
cipal underlaying rock here ; though the ferriferous strata 
overlay it in the hills. The gas issues through gravelly soil 
at the foot of a hill, at the rate of about one gallon in a 
minute. It is precisely the same carburetted hydrogen gas, 
which is produced in most coal mines. To save the men 
from the explosions produced by igniting this gas when 
combined witli atmospheric air, Davy's safety-lamp was intro- 
duced. It burns with a flame which is not so white as that 
of the artificial coal gas ; neither does it partake of that blue 
colour, wliich is exhibited in burning the light carburet pro- 
duced by decaying vegetables. The production of this gas 
has generally been considered as a strong indication of the 
presence of coal. Dr. Hays, of Canandaigua, analyzed a 
similar gas, similarly situated, six miles from that village. 
This gas may be produced by the decomposition of water 
by coal, at a great distance from the place where it issues ; 
but it would follow a natural cleavage between two layers of 
the rock from which it issues. By disintegration, this rock 
produces a gravelly and sandy soil. When mixed with the 
soft aluminous graywacke slate beneath it, or the soft ferri-^ 
ferous slate above it, a productive soil is made. 



1Q4 OISEIDA CKE2K— STJLLIVAI5^= 

Judging from the strata of the eastern continent, this 
country has the strongest indication of coal ; and it appears 
unreasonable to suppose, that the species of formation which 
never proves barren in Em'opean regions, should not here 
yield it, though extending in length more than two hundred 
miles. It is all that is wanting to complete the internal wealth 
and prosperity of this fortunate state. 

Where the road passes Oneida Creek, is a settlement, or 
reservation of the Indians of that nation, still holding, though 
under far different circumstances, a small portion of the wide 
country of their ancestors. The village is known by the 
name of Oneida Castle, though no trace exists of any building 
from which it might derive that name. The number of In- 
dians in this settlement, in 1823, was said not to exceed 
eleven himdred and hfty ; and they are found to be a harm- 
less, inoffensive tribe, little resembling their ferocious ances^ 
tors, who conquered so many neighbouring nations of their 
own race, and so often struck terror into the hearts of their 
more practised and skilful foes. Several of them have be- 
come voluntary apprentices to different mechanics, placed 
among them by the Baptists, such as blacksmiths, wheel- 
wrights, &c. ; and many of the Indian women are becoming 
weavers and spinners, under the instruction of the benevolent 
females of the missionary families. 

The next village is eleven miles farther, on the Canesaraga 
Creek, from which it formerly took its name, but it has lately 
received that of Sullivan,- it contains about forty houses. 
The country through which the road passes, is rich in mine- 
ral productions ; immense masses of gypsum are found in it, 
limestone also, and iron ore, and, what has proved of inva- 
luable benefit to the state in her recent enterprises, the hy- 
draulic cement, or water-lime. The soil is warm and fertile, 
admirably calculated for the growth of grain ; and its surface 
is beautifully varied with undulations, crowned with forests, 
or the luxuriance of agriculture. As the traveller passes over 
the hills and dales, at every season of the year, he is struck 
with the beauties of the country, throughout all this region. 
In the siprlng-, the gay verdure, bursting forth with a richness 
and rapidity not seen in more southern climates, — ^in the 
summer, the deeper green that clothes the forests, and the 
ripe yellow harvest which adorns the fields with boundless 
luxuriance J all glowing- beneath the puie azui'e of a cloudless 



CHITTEIfllfGO — MANLIUS — JAMESVILLE. 105 

sky, — and in autumn, the season at which perhaps he is most 
likely to behold it, the foliage varying wilii every hue, from 
the bright colours of the maple to the brown vesture of the 
oak — ^that season, as our own expressive poet tells us. 

When all the woods are hung 
With many tints, the fading livery 
Of life, in which it mourns the coming storms 
Of winter, and the quiet winds awake 
Faint dirges in their wither'd leaves, and breathe 
Their sorrows through the groves. 

Three miles from Sullivan, we an-ive at Chittenifigo, a vil- 
lage of about fifty houses, and rapidly increasing in trade and 
population. It has a valuable set of mills, belonging to Mr. 
Yates, and consisting of a grist-mill, fulling-mill, carding ma= 
chine, saw-mill, oil-mill, a trip-hammer, and mill for grinding 
water-lime and gypsum. A branch canal, formed at the 
voluntary expense of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood, 
extends a mile and a half to the Erie canal, and is of great 
benefit to the country, in the transportation of its lime and 
gypsum. 

Six miles beyond Chitteningo, is the village of Manllus, 
containing about two hundred houses, three churches, a ma- 
sonic lodge, and a post-oflJce. On Limestone Creek, which 
runs by it, are a number of valuable manufactories ; and a 
flourishing trade is carried on with the surrounding country. 

Jamesville is six miles farther, situated on Butternut Creehy 
and containing about forty houses. Near this place, is an 
extraordinary cavern in the earth, discovered by digging a 
well, which opened into a cavity that has been traced thirty 
rods under ground. Green Pond is also a curiosity ; its sur- 
face being near two hundred feet below the common level of 
its shores, which are precipitous and rocky. Unlike the 
surface of a smooth water on Alpine heights, where the re° 
flection of light shows a ruddy splendour like burnished 
gold, this has a mirror of deep green ; and it merits alike 
the attention of the scientific philosopher and the merely 
curious traveller. It is known to be two hundred feet deep, 
and the water at the bottom has a strong smell of sulphur. 
It is a mile and a half in length, and three-fourths of a mile 
in width. 



106 OXOKDAGA CASTLE-— THE IKOaUOlS. 

After leaving this villag-e, we reach, in four miles, Onon- 
daga Hollow. At a short distance from it, and looking* in a 
north-eastern dh-ection, the waters of the Oneida Lake may- 
be occasionaUv seen, glancing- among the forests and between 
the hills. There is nothing striking in this little town, which 
contains about seventy houses, and of which the inhabitants 
are generally mechanics. But three miles to the south, there 
is a village, which will attract the notice of a traveller, that 
of Onondaga Castle^ the residence of a remnant of an Indian 
nation, which has clung, perhaps unfortunately, yet with a 
devotion which we cannot but admire, to the soil of its fore- 
fathers, amid every chang'e, and amid every disadvantage. 

All this country was, in former times, inliabited by the 
Ij'oquois, or confederated Indian nation ; and as the traveller 
will continually find traces of the existence of this once 
powerful race, we may detain him a few moments, with a 
brief sketch of its former glories, and its present extinction. 
The able pen of Mr. Clinton has rendered the task easy to 
every one, and we have little more to do, than to follow him 
through his researches and intelligent investigations. 

The country now embraced by the United States, that is, 
from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Ocean 
to the Mississippi, seems anciently to have been inhabited by 
a great number of Indian tribes, who formed themselves into 
a few larger confederacies. Of these, the Powhatans, the 
Creeks, the Cherokees, the Choctaws, and other nations, 
inhabited the country south and west of the Potomac ; while 
the vast territory to the north of that river and the Ohio, was 
occupied by two large confederacies, those of the Lenni-Len- 
iiape, or, as they were called by the Europeans, the Dehi wares, 
from holding their great council-fire on the banks of that 
river, and the Aganuschioni, or Mingoes, as they styled them- 
selves, but better,known by the French as the Iroquois, and 
by the English as the Five Nations. It is difificult to fix the 
boundaries of these savage nations, varying as they forever 
do, either from the conquest of bordering tribes, or the 
change of smaller ones from one confederacy to another. It 
seems however, that the great Delaware nation was com- 
posed of all the various tribes, who extended from the Che- 
sapeake and Potomac, northward and eastward, between the 
Alleghany mountains, the Highlands and the Hudson, on 
the one hand, and the Atlantic on the other ; embracing tlie 



THE iiiaatJoi3» 107 

Nantlcokes, and other nations of Maryland, the Delaware 
tribe, properly so called, of Pennsylvania and Jersey, and 
the Mohegans, with all their subsidiaiy tribes, who spread 
over New-Eng-land. 

The Iroquois were a race of much more valour and enter- 
prise than their neighbours, and extended their conquests 
over their country, and even carried their arms beyond the 
great northern lakes ; they seem indeed to have been the 
terrae, dominantis alumyii of former ages, and to have subdued 
or rendered tributary the most powerful Indians of the con- 
tinent. Their territory appears to have extended from Lake 
Champlain and the Hudson, across New- York and Pennsyl- 
vania, and the western states, as far as the Mississippi, — • 
bounded to the north by the great Lakes, and on the south 
and east by the Alleghany mountains and the river Ohio. 
The dwelling lands of this confederacy were admirably adapt- 
ed for convenience, for subsistence, and for conquest. They 
comprised the greatest body of the most fertile land in North 
America ; and they are the most elevated grounds in the 
United States, from whence the waters flow in every direc- 
tion. Five great inland seas reach upwards of two thousand 
miles through a considerable part of this territory, and afford 
an almost uninteiTupted navigation to that extent. By these 
lakes and rivers, the confederates were enabled, at all times, 
and in all directions, to carry war and destruction among the 
suiTOunding and the most distant nations. The numerous 
waters were stored with fish of various kinds, and the forests 
abounded with an incredible number and variety of game. 
The situation of the inhabitants was rendered very eligible, 
from these sources of subsistence, connected with a pro- 
ductive soil ; for they had passed over the pastoral state, 
and followed agriculture, as well as fishing and hunting. 
The selection of this country for a habitation, was the wisest 
expedient that could have been adopted by a militaiy nation, 
to satiate their thirst for glory, and to extend their conquests 
over the continent; and if they prefen-ed the arts of peace, 
there was none better calculated for this important purpose. 
In a few days, their forces could be seen, their power could 
be felt, at the mouth of the Ohio or the Missouri, on the 
waters of the Hudson or the St. Lawrence, or in the bays of 
Delaware and Chesapeake. 



108 THE IROaUOlS. 

The confederates had proceeded fai* beyond the first ele> 
ment of all associations, that of combination into famihes 5 
they had their villag-es, their tribes, their nations, and their 
confederacy : but they had not advanced beyond the first 
stag^e of g-overnment 5 they were destitute of an executive 
and judiciary, to execute the determination of their councils; 
and their government was therefore merely advisory, and 
without a coercive principle. The respect which was paid 
to their chiefs, and the general odium that attached to dis- 
obedience, rendered the decisions of their legislatures, for a 
long series of time, of as much validity as if they had been 
enforced by an executive arm. 

They were originally divided into five nations— the Mo- 
hawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the 
Senecas. In 1712, the Tuscaroras, who hved in the back 
parts of North Carohna, and who had formed a deep and 
general conspiracy to exterminate the whites, were driven 
from their country; they were adopted by the Iroquois as a 
sixth nation, and lived on lands between the Oneidas and the 
Onondagas, assigned to them by the former. 

The Mohawks had four towns and one small village, situ- 
ated on or near the fertile banks of the river of that name. 
The position of the first was at the confluence of the Scho- 
harie creek and Mohawk river, and the others were farther 
to the west. This nation, from their propinquity to the set- 
tlements of the whites, from theu' martial renown, and mih- 
tary spirit, have hke Holland, frequently given their name 
to the v/hole confederacy, which is often denominated the 
Mohawk, in the annals of those days. 
. The Oneidas had their principal seat on the south of the 
Oneida lake, the Onondagas near the Onondaga, and the 
Cayugas near the Cayuga lake ; the principal village of the 
Senecas was near the Genesee river, about twenty miles from 
Irondequot Bay. Each nation was divided into three tribes, 
the Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf; and each village was 
a distinct republic, and its concerns were managed by its 
particular cliiefs. Their exterior relations, general interests, 
and national affairs, were conducted and superintended by 
a great council, assembled annually in Onondaga, the central 
canton, composed of the chiefs of each repubhc ; and eighty 
sachems were frequently convened at this national assembly. 
It took cognizance of the great questions of war and peace. 



THE moatrois. 109 

of the affairs of the tribiltary nations, and thelf negotiations 
with the French and Eng-hsh colonies. All their proceed- 
ings were conducted with great deliberation, and were dis- 
tinguished for order, decorum and solemnity. In eloquence, 
in dignity, and in all the characteristics of profound pohcy, 
they surpassed an assembly of feudal barons, and were per- 
haps not far inferior to the great Amphyctionic Council of 
Greece. 

The conquests of the Iroquois, previously to the discovery 
of America, are only known to us through the imperfect 
channels of tradition ; but it is well authenticated, that since 
that memorable era, they extenninated the nation of the 
Eides or Erigas, on the south side of Lake Erie, which has 
given name to that lake. They nearly extirpated the An- 
dastez, and the Chouanons ; they conquered the Hurons, 
and drove them and their allies, the Ottawas, among the 
Sioux, on the head waters of the Mississippi, where they* 
separated themselves into bands, and proclaimed, wherever 
they v/ent, the terror of the Iroquois. They also subdued 
the Illinois, the Miamies, the Algonquins, the Delawares, the 
Shawanese, and several tribes of the Abenaquis. After the 
Iroquois had defeated the Hurons, in a dreadful battle fought 
jiear Quebec, the Neperceneans, who hved upon the St. 
Lawrence, fled to Hudson's Bay to avoid their fury. In 1649, 
they destroyed two Huron villages, and dispersed the nation; 
and afterwards, tliey destroyed another village of six liundred 
families : two villages presented themselves to the confede- 
'"rates, and lived with them. ** The dread of the Iroquois,'* 
i^ays the liistorian,* " bad such an effect upon all other na- 
tions, that the borders of tlie river Ontaouis, which were 
long thickly peopled, became almost deserted, without its 
ever being knov, n what became of the greater part of the 
inhabitants." The Illinois tied to the westward, after being 
attacked by the confederates, and did not return until a ge» 
neral peace ; and were permitted, in 1760, by the confede- 
rates, to settle in the country between the Wabash and the 
Scioto rivers. The banks of Lake Superior were lined with 
Algonquins, who sought an asylum from the incursions of the 
Five Nations. They also harassed all the northern Indians, 

* Harriot, p. 70. 

K 



110 THE IROaUOIS. 

as far as Hudson's Bay ; and they even attacked the nations 
on the Missouri. 

Nor was it with Indians alone, that these gallant warriors 
contended ; for nearly a century and a half, they carried on 
a war against the French possessions in Louisiana and Cana- 
da, sometimes alone, and sometimes in conjunction with the 
English colonists. During this eventful period, they often 
maintained a proud superiority, always an honourable resist- 
ance ; and no vicissitude of fortune, or visitation of calamity, 
could ever compel them to descend from the elevated gi'ound 
which they occupied in their own estimation, and in the 
opinion of the nations. 

In 1683, M, Delabarre, the governor-general of Canada, 
proceeded with an army against the cantons. He landed 
near Oswego, but finding himself incompetent to meet the 
enemy, he instituted a negotiation, and demanded a confer- 
ence. On this occasion, Garangula, an Onondaga chief, at- 
tended in behalf of his country, and made his celebrated 
reply to M. Delabarre. The French retired from the coun- 
try with disgrace. The second general expedition was un- 
dertaken in 1687, by M. Denonville, governor-general. He 
had treacherously seized several of their cliiefs, and sent 
them to the galleys in France. He was at the head of an 
army exceeding' two thousand men. He landed in Ironde- 
quot Bay, and when near a village of the Senecas, was at- 
tacked by five hundred warriors : he would have been de- 
feated, if his Indian alhes had not rallied and repulsed the 
enemy. After destroying some provisions, and burning a few 
villages, he retired without any acquisition of lam-els. The 
place on which the battle was fought, has within a few years 
been owned by Judge Porter, of Grand Niagara. On plough- 
ing the land, three hundred hatchets, and upwai'ds of three 
thousand pounds of old iron, were found. 

The confederates, in a year's time, compelled their ene- 
mies to make peace, and to restore their chiefs. It was with 
the French the only means of escape from destiniction. 
Great bodies of them threatened Montreal, and their canoes 
covered the great Lakes ; they shut up the French in their 
forts, and would have conquered the whole of Canada, if 
they had understood the art of attacking fortified places. 
This peace was soon disturbed by the artifices of Kondia- 
ronk, a Huron chief; and the Iroquois made an hruption on 



THE moauois. Ill 

the island of Montreal, with one thousand two hundred men, 
destroying every thing before them. 

The third and last grand expedition against the confede- 
rates, was undertaken, in 1697, by the Count de Frontenac, 
the ablest and bravest governor that the French ever had in 
Canada. He landed at Oswego, with a poM^erful force, and 
marched to the Onondaga lake, but he found their principal 
village burnt and abandoned. He sent seven hundred men 
to destroy the Oneida castle, where a few prisoners were 
taken. An Onondaga chief, upwards of one hundred years old, 
was captured in the woods, and abandoned to the fury of the 
French savages. After sustaining the most horrid tortures, 
with more than stoical fortitude, the only complaint he was 
heard to utter, was when one of them, actuated by compas- 
sion, or probably by rage, stabbed him repeatedly with a 
knife, in order to put a speedy end to his existence ; "Thou 
ought not," said he "to abridge my life, that thou might 
have time to learn to die like a man. For my own part, I 
die contented, because I know no meanness with which to 
reproach myself." After this tragedy, the Count thought it 
prudent to retire with his army; and he probably would have 
fallen a victim to his temerity, if the Senecas had not been 
kept at home, from a false report, that they were to be at- 
tacked at the same time by the Ottawas. 

Ever faithful to their treaties, the Iroquois adhered to the 
English throughout our revolutionary struggle ; and though 
we may weep over the sufferings of our countrymen on the 
frontiers, who felt their heavy vengeance, we must still ad- 
mire the constancy and firm fidelity of this savage race. The 
smiling banks of the Mohawk could tell many a tale of savage 
horror, acted upon them in those dreadful times; but perhaps 
the traveller who now visits Onondaga Castle, will think that 
our vengeance has been ample. 

It became necessary, however, in the revolutionary war, 
that the Iroquois should receive a signal chastisement for 
theu' barbarous and cruel incursions; and accordingly. Gene- 
ral Sullivan, with an army of nearly five thousand men, 
marched into their country, in the year 1779. Near New- 
town, in the present county of Tioga, he defeated them, and 
drove them from their fortifications. He continued his march 
between the Cayuga and Seneca lakes, and through their 
territory as far as the Genesee river, destroying their orchards. 



112 THB IROaUOIS. 

corn-fields, and forty villag-es, the largest of which contauied 
one hundred and twenty-eight houses. This expedition was 
nearly the finishing blow to the cruelty and audacity of the 
Indians. Their habitations were destroyed, their provinces 
laid waste ; they were driven from their country, and were 
compelled to take refuge under the cannon of Niagara. 
Their hostility terminated with our pacification with Great 
Britain. 

From this period, it is painful to trace the history of the 
Iroquois ; it is painful to behold their constant diminution, 
sometimes rapid, and sometimes g-radual. Their present 
condition fmmishes an admonitoiy lesson to human pride, 
and adds another proof to the many on record, that nations, 
like individuals, are destined by Providence to destruction. 
Throughout every part of our countr}'-, wherever we turn 
our eyes, the same lesson is conveyed, the same unaccount- 
able dissolution, if we may use the term, is to be seen. 
•* Where," says a youthful poet, who has made these events 
the subject of an interesting tale — 

Where is the Mohawk, he whose war-cry made 
A hundred nations flee along the glade ? 
Where the high race, who battled side by side. 
Where broad Potomac's sunny waters glide? 
Where the gigantic warriors, who stood 
Where Susquehanna rolls the western flood ? 
Where are the council-fires, which lit the shore 
Of thy vast valley, beauteous Shenandoah ? 
No song of Indian maid now swells tlie gale. 
Which sweeps the verdure of thy quiet vale ; 
The feast of harvest, and the song of war. 
Along thy plains shall never murmur more. 

Of the ancient domains of the Iroquois, all that now remain 
are a few reservations in the Oneida, Onondag-a and Seneca 
countries. The Mohawks abandoned their country, during 
the revolutionary war; and the Cayugas have also since done 
the same. A remnant of the Tuscaroras reside on three 
miles square, near the Niag-ura river, on lands given to them 
by the Senecas and the Holland Land Company. The Oneida 
reservation does not contain more than ten thousand acres ; 
and the Onondaga is still smaller. The Senecas have their 
principal settlement at Buffalo creek ; their reservations are 



THE mOaUOIS ANCTEXT FORTIFICATIONS. 113 

extensive and valuable, containing" more than one hundred 
and sixty thousand acres ; and they possess upwards of one 
hundred thousand dollars in the stock of the late bank of the 
United States. 

The Six Nations have lost their high character and elevated 
standing. They are, in general, addicted to idleness and 
drunkenness ; the remnant of their eloquence and military 
spirit, as well as national strength, is to be found only among 
the Senecas. Their ancient men, who have witnessed the 
former glory and prosperity of their country, and who have 
heard from the mouths of their ancestors the heroic achieve- 
ments of their countrymen, weep like infants, when they 
speak of the fallen condition of the nation. They, however, 
derive some consolation from a prophecy of ancient origin, 
and universal currency among them, that the man of America 
will, at some futm'e time, regain his ancient ascendency, and 
expel the man of Europe from this western hemisphere. 
This flattering and consolatory persuasion has restrained, 
in some degree, theu* vicious propensities ; has enabled the 
Seneca and Shawanese prophets to arrest, in some tribes, 
the use of intoxicating liquors ; and has given biilh, at dif- 
ferent periods, to certain movements towards a general con- 
federacy of the savages of North America. That they con- 
sider the white man as an enemy and an intruder, who has 
driven them from their country, is most certain ; and they 
cherish this antipathy with so much rancour, that when they 
abandon their settlements, they make it a rule never to dis- 
close to him any mineral substances or springs, which may 
redound to his convenience or advantage. 

There is another feature in the aboriginal history of this 
country, which will strike the traveller peculiai'ly after pass- 
ing Onondaga. Over tl\e vast extent of country spreading 
to the west of this place, and even beyond the Mississippi, 
are seen the remains of fortifications, or rude camps, which 
would seem to be the work of nations advanced in civilization, 
far beyond the Indians who were found here by the Eu- 
ropeans. 

A number of these works are to be found in the western 
parts of this state. There is a large one in the township of 
Onondaga ; one in Pompey, and another in Manlius ; one in 
Camillus, eight miles from Auburn ; one in Scipio, six miles, 
another one mile, and one half a nnle from that village., 

k2 



114 AKCIENT FOnTIFlCATIOXS. 

Between the Seneca and Cayug-a lakes, there are several ; 
three within a few miles of each other. Near the villag-e of 
Canandaigua, there are three ; in a word, they are scattered 
all over this country. 

These forts were, generally speaking, erected on the most 
commanding ground. The walls or breastworks are earth ; 
the ditches are on the exterior of the works. On some of 
the parapets, oak trees are to be seen, which, from the 
number of concentric circles, must have been standing one 
hundred and fifty, two hundred and sixty, and three hundred 
years ; and there were evident indications, not only that they 
had sprung up since the erection of those works, but that 
they were at least a second gTowth. The trenches are in 
some cases deep and wide, and in others naiTOw and shallow; 
and the breastworks vary in altitude from three to eight 
feet. They sometimes had one, and sometimes two entrances, 
as is to be inferred from there being no ditch at those places. 
When the works were protected by a deep ravine, or a large 
stream of water, no ditch is to be seen. The areas of these 
forts vary from two to six acres ; and in some of them, frag- 
ments of earthenware, and pulverized substances, supposed 
to have been originally human bones, have been found. 

The present race of Indians seem entirely unacquainted, 
alike with the origin and use of these exti^aordinary works; 
and if any of them pretend to a traditional knowledge, its utter 
inaccuracy is proved at once, by the contradictory accounts 
they give, their entire inapplicability to any mode of warfare 
practised by them, and their unfitness for any of their domes- 
tic usages. Their origin, it is now in vain even to conjecture; 
but of all the theories respecting them, that of Mr. Chnton, 
although apparently contradicted in some instances by seve- 
ral facts, seems entitled to the most consideration, and sup- 
ported by the most ingenuity and science. Mr. Clinton be- 
lieves, that the conquest by the ancient Goths of the civil- 
ized nations of Europe, the iiTuption of the barbarians from 
the unknown reg'ions of the north, over France, Italy and 
Spain, are but modern repetitions of a scene which was act- 
ed, centuries ago, on the plains of America ; that this conti- 
nent was inhabited by nations powerful in arts and arms, 
skilful in agriculture, acquainted with the use of metals, and 
far advanced in civilization ; that as Siberia and Russia were 
the *officina gentium' of Europe, so the vast regions in the 



ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS — WEST HILL. 115 

north of Asia, overteeming with population, supplied tlie 
hordes which soug-ht new homes in another continent ; that 
the people of America, compelled to defend themselves from 
their ruthless invaders, constructed numerous works for their 
protection, and long and vigorously resisted their hardy an- 
tagonists ? but, like the degenerated Romans, worn down by 
successive inroads, and perhaps enervated by peace and 
civihzation, they were conquered by their barbarous and in- 
numerable foes — while in these rude and decaying monu- 
ments, we behold all that is left of the ancient and extermi- 
nated race. " This is perhaps," concludes Mr. Chnton, 
"the airy nothing of imagination, and may be reckoned the 
extravagant dream of a visionary mind : but may we not, 
considering the wonderful events of the past and present 
times, and the inscrutable dispensations of an overruling Pro- 
vidence, may we not look forward into futurity, and, without 
departing from the rigid laws of probability, predict the oc- 
currence of similar scenes, at some remote period of time ? 
And perhaps, in the decrepitude of our empire, some ti'ans- 
cendent g'enius, whose powers of mind shall only be bounded 
,by that impenetrable circle which prescribes the hmits of 
human nature, may rally the barbarous nations of Asia under 
the standard of a mighty empire. Following the track of the 
Russian colonies and commerce towards the north-west coast, 
and availing himself of the navigation, arms and military skill 
of civilized nations, he may, after subverting- the neighbour- 
ing despotisms of the old world, bend his course towards 
European America. The destinies of our country may at 
length be decided on the waters of the Missouri, or on the 
banks of Lake Superior ; and if Asia shall then revenge upon 
our posterity the injuries we have inflicted on her sons, a new, 
a long and a gloomy nig'ht of Gothic darkness will again set 
in upon mankind. And when, after the efflux of ages, the 
returning effulgence of intellectual light shall again gladden 
the nations, the wide-spread ruins of our cloud-capped tow- 
ers, of our solemn temples, and of our magnificent cities, 
will, like the works of which we have treated, become the 
subject of curious research and elaborate investigation.*' 

About a mile beyond Onondaga Hollow, is the village of 
IVest Hilly or, as it is now called, Onondaga Post-Office. It 
is situated on a fine eminence, and has a court-house and 



116 mahcelitts — skeneateless — attbuhk-. 

offices, a gaol, two churches, and about eighty houses, stores 
and shops. 

In nine miles from West Hill, we reach the village of Mar- 
celluSy seated on Otisc© creek, and containing a church, a 
school-house, and about forty houses. In the Otisco Creek 
there are very large springs, which it is supposed are fed 
from the Skeneateless, by a subterranean passage. It is cer- 
tain that the waters of the Otisco, for a short distance below 
these springs, possess strong petrifactive qualities, not ob- 
servable above. 

The road now passes through a flourishing country, well 
cultivated, and containing many manufacturing estabhsh- 
ments. As we approach Skeneateless, the lake is seen 
spreading its glassy surface several miles to the south, and 
its shores gemmed with little villas, rising amid woods and 
fields. The village of Skeneateless is six miles from Marcellus, 
contains a church, library, &;c. and appears to carry on a 
prosperous trade. The lake of the same name, at the outlet 
of which it is situated, extends about fifteen miles to the 
south, and varies in width from half a mile to a mile and a 
half; it is very deep, fed by springs, and is always late in 
freezing over. Its name signifies * long,' in the dialect of 
the Onondaga Indians. 

The next stage is eight miles to the village of Jtuburn, 
seated at the outlet of Owasco lake. It is the capital of 
Cayuga county, and contains one hundred and fifty houses 
and stores, with many handsome private mansions. The 
com-t-house and county offices are here ; and the state prison 
and a theological seminary are not far distant from one an- 
other. 

Owasco Lake is about eleven miles in length, and from one 
to nearly two miles in width. Its outlet, Owasco creek, on 
which stands the village of Auburn, discharges north through 
AureUus and Mentz to Seneca river, about fifteen miles. 
Owasco inlet is a small stream that runs into the head of 
Owasco lake. Owasco, in the language of the Iroquois, is 
* a bridge ;' and its lake took its name from an Owasco, or 
bridge, of drift-wood, anciently formed across it, near the 
north end. 

After passing Auburn, the country is much more open and 
improved? well-furnished houses and thriving villages are 



EAST CAYUGA — CAYUGA LAKE. IIT 

seen continually. The soil is good, the surface pretty well 
watered ; its products various, like those of the siuTounding- 
country, and in luxuriant abundance. There are few better 
farn-iing counties in the state. This country abounds much 
with calcareous petrifactions; and the limestone with impres- 
sions resembhng" muscle-shells, less common in the harder 
vai'ieties. It seems to have for a basis rock, at various depths, 
the clay slate, so extensively spread in the west, with tracts 
of hmestone, gypsum and hydraulic lime. The alluvial soil 
and sub -soil are principally calcareous, in the southern part; 
but that of the northern is more loamy. Iron ore is found 
in nearly every part, in the form of an argillaceous oxyde. 

Eight miles beyond Auburn bring us to East Cayuga^ a 
post town, containing about twenty houses, and placed on 
the margin of the Cayuga Lake. This lake extends north 
and south, and is thirty-eight miles in length, fomiing a 
part of the divisional line between Cayuga and Seneca coun- 
ties. The north end is twenty-five miles south of Lake On- 
tario. The lake varies in width from one to fbur miles, and 
has a shore considerably indented and iiTegulai*. In some 
places, it is terminated by precipices, but is in general ten 
or tv/elve feet high, with unbroken acclivities, that rise 
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, in about 
half a mile from the lake. At the Ca)^uga bridge, the lake 
is a mile and a quarter wide ; at Unioti Springs, six miles 
above, two ; three, at Levana, foui* miles further south ; and 
four and a quarter at .Aurora, south of which it contracts to 
about two miles, and less. This lake freezes in winter, for 
six or eight miles above the outlet, or where the water does 
not exceed twenty or thirty feet in depth ; but in the deeper 
parts, it generally remains open through the season. At its 
south end, which is in Tompkins county, it receives several 
fine mill-streams — Fall Creek from Cayuga county, and Six- 
mile and Main Inlet Creeks, in Tompkins county ; Salmon 
Creek enters from the east shore, five miles north of these ; 
and it receives, besides, many smaller mill-streams. This 
lake discharges itself into Lake Ontario, through the com- 
mon channel of all the small lakes in this part of New-York, 
tliat is, the Seneca and Oswego rivers. The Seneca river, 
leaving the lake of that name at its northern extremity, 
pursues an easterly direction to the Cayuga lake, which it 
joins in its most northern point * the mingled waters of these 



118 WEST CATfUOA— SENECA FALLS — WATEHLOO. 

two then flow together, winding along, and receiving in their 
course the waters of the Canandaigua, O wasco, Skeneateless, 
Otisco, Onondaga, and other smaller lakes, till they meet the 
outlet of the Oneida lake, at Three River Point; the united 
stream tlien receives the name of the Oswego river, and 
bears it till it enters Lake Ontaiio. It is a singular fact in 
geogTaphy, that the Oswego river, only twenty-four miles in 
length, conveys to Lake Ontario the surplus waters discharged 
from all the lakes of * the lake region,* in the western part 
of this state, from the Oneida westward to Canandaigua lake, 
swelled by a vast number of small streams, many of them of 
sufficient volume for all sorts of hydraulic works. Its width 
is about two hundred yards, discharging a powerful stream, 
collected from an area of about seven thousand square miles, 
in the very heart of a rich and flourishing region. 

The Cayuga lake, here a mile and a quarter broad, is cross- 
ed on a bridge built on piles, about two miles above its north- 
em extremity ; as we pass it, a charming view is presented 
of the lake, the vaiying declivities of its shores, the farm 
houses, and the fields, chequered with cattle, or rich with 
the products of agriculture. Immediately on the western 
bank is Bridgeton, or West Cayuga, a village settled in the 
year 1789, by James Bennett and Colonel John Haines, who 
established a ferry across the lake. It may contain about 
one hundred and fifty inhabitants. 

The road now passes over a country well settled, chiefly 
by emigrants from the eastern states, for three miles, when we 
reach Seneca Falls. This place contains about forty dwelhng 
houses, and has a church and parsonage, two large merchant 
mills, an oil-mill, a fulling-mill, saw-mill, tannery, distillery, 
several stores and inns, with about two hundred inhabitants. 
Here are the mills of Colonel Mynderse, a gentleman of en- 
terprise, who settled at this spot in 1795, where are annually 
made into flour forty thousand bushels of wheat ; and the 
reputation of his flour does credit to that gentleman and to 
the country. The post village of Waterloo, on the north bank 
of the same stream, is four miles west of Seneca Falls, seven 
east of Geneva, one hundred and eighty-seven west of Alba- 
ny ; and has the court-house and jail, a number of manufac- 
turing establishments and mills, with stores, taverns, about 
a hundred dwelling houses, and six hundred inhabitants. 
The location and first settlement of this village were in 181(1, 



•IS its imnic will hIiow: Niiice Ihiit pcHod, how rapid haw hr^n 
itH iiici'caMc ! Miit: a lew yearn since, iht' Inm1«i' iniglit liav<r 
ntirHiicd IiIh chase iinintciTiipted, where now he finds lh<" 
hiisy liuunlH oC man ! Our niisloiUine, however, has atlcndi-d 
\t — want of heah,hin<'HH ; it. is se.vi rely visilcd hy the :i|4;Me , 
hut; as in many other iiislanees, this may pass away, wiiii in 
cr<;asiii^' <-ivili/alion, the diminution oi* tho iovuHtn, and ihc 
uu|»rovenient, of llie low j.';rounds. 

Six miles heyond Waterloo, we arrive at (h'ncMt, a floniiMh- 
inj^' town, Hitnated on the nortli-western cvtreniity of the 
Seneca lake, one hundred and ninetv-niue iniles from Alhany, 
one hundred and ei^>-iit Irom /}iij/'al<>, thirty from SiuIiih litiy 
on Lake Ontario, twelve mili-s south of tiie Krie canal, and 
iifty-elf^ht, Irom I'llniini, on the Tiojua branch of the Hus(|uc- 
hanna. It contains about, three hun(h'(;d dwelling'; houHc^s, (i, 
number of shopH, two printing--ol)ice.s, a hank, a land o(lic(r, 
and a libraiy. 'I'hcre are tlu'ec liandsome chuiches, for l'j])iH- 
copalians, Methodists and IM-esbyterianH? and a larj^'e and nub- 
Mtantial nUnu: eililice has lately been erected as an academy, 
ill which are already nearly one hundred ntudents. This 
biiildiiij^, it iH (!X|)ec(ed, will in a short time assume tlie stand- 
ing* of a colle^-e, for which arran^cnumts ai*«' now inakinj.'-. 
'I'lie whole population of the villa^'e is about two IhouHand, 
There are two f';lass liictories in operation, about two miles 
Month «>f the village i and much of tbi- <;apilal owned here is 
actively employe<l in various works and sections of the hui'- 
roiuidini;' eoiuitry. 'I'he trade of the village is iistiuuiled at 
half a million of dollars per annum. Hla|;'<' <'.oacheH panH daily 
between this place an<l Albany, Dtica and HuMiilot tluwii 
tim<*s a week, connnunicatc with Albany, hy (;ln;iry Valley; 
and with Newburg-, Owej^o, Ithaca and Ovidj twice u week 
with Vienna, Lyons, I'almyra, Ifocluistei", Hodus and l*idt<'- 
neyville. The navij^ation t,hifMi);h the Htuieea river to the 
Lrie canal is jircMty j^'ood, and tieneva seejus yet likely to 
retain its jin sent business, and to increase in ]io|Mdattou. 
The situation of the villa}.;e is ejevaterl, couunandinj;' an <'X- 
t,< nsive vi<w of tin; lake and the a<ljaccMil counti-y ^ and \'c\f/ 
plac.<s have more buHiness, or more of thc IIICUIIM 01' enjoy- 
ments of active industry and enteipiiNe. 

'i'he Si;ntc.a Lahv. \\^ one of the most beautiful sheetM of 
water in oiu" country. It extends t;o tli<^ south for about 
thirty-live iiulcw, vujying" in width from two to foiu" inilci*, 



120 SENECA lAKE— CANANBAIGtri. 

and is veiy deep. It is never closed by ice, being fed by 
spring's, and by the outlet of the Crooked lake. Pike, salmon, 
trout, and many varieties offish, are caught in great plenty; 
and its shores abound with wild fowl and game. The banks 
of the lake vaiy with great beauty, as we sail up it ; some- 
times descending to the water in bold declivities, but gene- 
rally sloping gradually away, and blending themselves almost 
imperceptibly with the placid waters. The following beau- 
tiful little poem was written by Mr. Percival, on visiting this 
enchanting spot: — 

On thy fair bosom, silver Lake ! 

The wild swan spreads his snowy tail. 
And round his breast the ripples break, 

As down he bears before the gale. 

On thy fair bosom, waveless stream ! 

The dipping paddle echoes far. 
And flashes in the moonlight gleam, 

And bright reflects the polar star. 

The waves along thy pebbly shore. 

As blows the north- wind, heave their foam, 

And curl around the dashing oar, 
As late the boatman hies him home. 

How sweet, at set of sun, to view 
Thy golden mirror, spreading wide. 

And see the mist of mantling blue 

Float round the distant mountain side ! 

At midnight hour, as shines the moon, 

A sheet of silver spreads below. 
And swift she cuts, at highest noon. 

Light clouds, hke wreaths of purest snov. 

On thy fair bosom, silver Lake ! 

O ! I could ever sweep the oar, 
When early birds at morning wake. 

And evening tells us, toil is o'er. 

Leaving Geneva, the road passes for sixteen miles over a 
country beautifully diversified with liill and dale, to the town 
of Canandaigua, situated at the northern end of the lake of 
the same name. It is the capital of Ontario county, one of 
the finest in tiie state, and, next to that of New-York, the 



CANANDAIGUA. 12\ 

largest in population. The surface is agreeably diversified, 
waving in gentle swells and vales of ample area, with tracts 
of champain, and the southern part more or less hilly. The 
soil pai-takes of a considerable variety, but a warm and rich 
mould forms the greater proportion, while along the borders 
of Lake Ontario, there are tracts of argillaceous loam, but 
with a slight admixture of mould. The whole, however, 
may be pronounced a very excellent country, for the various 
products of agriculture. Few counties of this state, or in the 
United States, enjoy more of the abundance of nature, or 
possess the blessings of social life, in a richer variety. The 
climate is temperate, and for persons inured to it, perfectly 
healthy ; nor as a fruit country, for the apple, pear, plum, 
cherry, melon and the grape, is it excelled in the state. 
Canandaigua is built on an inchned plane, rising from the 
lower extremity of the lake. It consists principally of a fine 
broad street, with an open area in the centre of the village, 
commanding a beautiful view, at less than half a mile distant 
from the lake. This street is about a mile in length, rising 
b)' an easy acclivity from the water, and, at the end of the 
borough, or village, attains a commanding elevation. In 
point of beauty and elegance of position, as well as in the 
style of its buildings, Canandaigua is excelled by no place of 
the same extent in the United States. It contains about four 
hundi-ed houses and stores, and between two and three thou- 
sand inhabitants. Among its public building's, are the court- 
house, jail, fii'e-proof office of the court, three churches, a 
state arsenal, an academy, five school-houses, a masonic hall, 
two banks, and two land offices. There are three or four print- 
ing offices and three gazettes, forty stores, several of which 
are very extensive, and a large book-shop. The county prison 
is a large stone building, enclosed on the north and west sides 
by a thick stone wall, and cost the county thirty thousand dol- 
lars. In 1790, this spot contained but a single human habita- 
tion ; and when the Duke de Liancourt travelled through it, 
some years after, the inn at which he passed the night had but 
one chamber, which was also used as a corn-loft, in which all 
the guests, of whatever sex, rank or age, were obliged to sleep , 
It was in the midst of thick forests, inhabited by Indians; and 
the road to Niagara was but a foot or horse ti'ack, traced with 
great difficulty through the woods. In the year 1818, as 
Mr. Darby was travelling thijough this country, he accident- 
ia 



122 CAKAKDAIGUA. 

ally met an old gentleman, with whom he entered the town. 
"As we came to the lower extremity of the lake," he observes, 
**and the extensive orchards and meadows near the town 
came in view, I expressed my admiration at the state of 
improvement everywhere visible. My fellow traveller re- 
plied, * Twenty-nine years ag-o, I came to this outlet,- and at 
that time, no mark of the human hand was here to be seen, 
except those made by savages, a village of whom existed on 
that point,' showing me the lower end of the now flourishing 
town of Canandaigua. I could not doubt his information, — 
though there was something in the shortness of the period, 
when compared with the effects of human labour under my 
eye, that seemed almost the effect of magic !" The ground 
plan of Canandaigua is decidedly superior to that of any other 
considerable village in the western part of this state. The 
private mansions of many individuals are extensive and ele- 
gant, having spacious courts and gardens, and combining 
every convenience of art with elegance and taste. The prin- 
cipal public buildings are on an open area, in the centre, of 
considerable extent, — a plan so convenient and ornamental, 
that it ought everywhere to be adopted, in populous country 
towns. 

We may here introduce with gi'eat propriety the observa- 
tions of Miss Frances Wright, the intelligent English lady, 
who travelled over our country a few years since, and pub- 
lished, as the fruit of her travels, tiie interesting View of 
Society and Manners in America. " The villages at tlie heads 
of the different lakes," she observes, "are ail thriving, cheer- 
ful, and generally beautiful 5 but Canandaigua, 1 tiiink, bears 
away the palm. The land has been disposed of in lots of 
forty acres each, one being the breadth, running in lines di- 
verging on either hand of the main road. The houses are 
all delicately painted ; their windows, with green Venitian 
blinds, peeping gaily through tine young trees, or standing 
forward, more exposed, on their little lawns, as gi-een and 
fresh as those of England. Smiling gardens, orchards laden 
with fruit — quinces, apples, plums, peaches, &c. and fields 
rich in golden grain, stretcli behmd each of these lovely 
villas ; the church, with its white steeple, rising in the midst, 
overlooking this land of enchantment. 

" The increase of population, the encroachment of culti- 
vation on th^ wilderness, the birth of settlements, and their 



CtlFTON SPRIKGS. 123 

growth into towns, surpass belief, till one has been an eye- 
witness of the miracle, or conversed on the spot with those 
who have been so. It is wonderfully cheering- to find your- 
self in a country which tells only of improvement. What 
other land is there, that points not the imag-ination back to 
better days, contrasting present decay with departed strength, 
or that even in its strug-gles to hold a forward career, is not 
checked at every step by some physical or political hin- 
drance ? 

** I think it was one of the sons of Constantine, I am sure 
that it was one of his successors, who, returning from a visit 
to Rome, said that he had learned one thing there, ** that 
men died in that Queen of Cities, as they did elsewhere." 
It might require more, perhaps, to remind a stranger of the 
mortality of his species in these states, than it did in old 
Rome. All here wears so much the gloss of novelty — all 
around you breathes so much of the life and energy of youth, 
that a wanderer from the antique habitations of time-worn 
Europe might look around, and deem that man here held a 
new charter of existence ; that Time had folded his wings, 
and the Sisters thrown away the shears." 

About ten miles north-east of Canandaigua, are some sul- 
phur springs, which have attracted considerable notice, and 
have obtained the name of Clifton Springs. The waters are 
strongly impregnated with sulphur, at first perfectly transpa- 
rent, becoming opaque, and changing to a yellowish cream 
colour, as the precipitates form, which consist of carbonate 
of lime, and of sulphur, in the state of brimstone. In this 
state, they emit great quantities of sulphuretted hydrogen, 
which diffuses the scent to very considerable distances. Yet 
plants grow in these springs, though covered with the depo- 
sition of sulphurous and calcareous matter, as are the stones 
also, and every other body resting in the M^ater ; and cattle 
drink from them very freely, without injury, or any percep- 
tible effects. Where one of the springs rises, is a spot of 
five or six rods in diameter, completely covered with these 
mineral precipitates, principally sulphur, which is found to 
be in some places nearly six feet deep ; and cart-loads of it 
may be collected in a few minutes, though mixed with every 
substance which chance has thrown into the mass : and yet, 
abundant as it is, no attempts seem to have been made to 
cleanse or manufacture any of it for use. These springs have 



124 BUIII5'IK& SPBIKG. 

become places of considerable resort, especially by persons 
afflicted with scrofulous affections, in which the use of the 
waters has been found hig-hly beneficial. The Chfton Hotel 
has a small library, with good accommodations for visitors. 

About nine miles south-west of Canandaig-ua, in the town- 
ship of Bristol, there is another remarkable fountain, known 
by the name of the Burning Spring. The following acgount 
of a visit to it is given by an intelligent ti'aveller: — 

*' We entered a small but thick wood of pine and maple, 
enclosed within a naiTow ravine, the steep sides of which, 
composed of dark clay slate, rise to the height of about forty 
feet. Down this glen, whose width at its entrance may be 
about sixty yards, trickles a scanty streamlet, wandering from 
side to side, as scattered rocks or fallen trees afford or deny 
it a passage. We had advanced on its course about fifty 
yards, when, close under the rocks of the right bank, we 
perceived a bright red flame, burning briskly on its waters. 
Pieces of lighted wood being applied to different adjacent 
spots, a space of several yards was immediately in a blaze. 
Being informed by our guide, that a repetition of this phe- 
nomenon might be seen higher up the glen, we scrambled 
on for about a hundred yards, and, directed in some degree 
by a strong smell of sulphur, applied a match to several 
places, with the same effect. The rocky banks here ap- 
proach so closely, as to leave little more than a course to the 
stream, v/hose stony channel formed our path : sulphur, in 
some places, oozed from them abundantly. We advanced 
about seventy yards further, when we found the glen termi- 
nate in a perpendicular rock, about thirty feet high, over- 
grown with moss, and encumbered with fallen pine trees, 
through which the drops, at this dry period of the season, 
scarcely trickle. These fires, we were told, continue burn- 
ing unceasingly, unless extinguished by accident. The phe- 
nomenon was discovered by the casual rolling of some light- 
ed embers from the top of the bank, while it was clearing 
for cultivation. In the intensity and diu-ation of the flame, 
it probably exceeds any thing of the kind yet discovered. 
We could however find no traces of a spring on its whole 
course : the water on which the first fire was bm'ning had 
indeed a stagnant appearance, and probably was so, from the 
failure of tlie current ; but it had no peculiar taste or smell, 
v/j'.s of the ordinary temperature, and but a few inches deepj 



SULPHUR SPHiyGS— lAST BLOOMFIILD, 125 

a few bubbles indicated the passage of the inflammable air 
through it ; on appJying- a match to the adjacent parts of the 
dry rock, a momentary flame played along it also. These 
circumstances induced us to consider the bed of the stream- 
let as accidentally aflbrding an outlet to the inflammable air 
below, and the water as in some degree performing the part 
of a candle-wick, by preventing its immediate dispersion into 
the atmosphere." 

There are also considerable sulphur springs, nine miles 
north-west of Canandaigua ; and it may perhaps be worth 
noticing, that a line drawn through both would strike, in a 
south-west direction, the warm spring near Huntingdon, in 
Pennsylvania — ^the Berkley medicinal waters, on the Potomac 
— and thence, following the course of the mountains south- 
west, the hot springs of Bath, and the sulphur springs in the 
Alleghany. 

From Canandaigua, a stage is frequently taken to Roches- 
ter, and thence to the Falls of Niagara ; passing along the 
Ridge road, and through Lewistown and Manchester, instead 
of Buffalo. Continuing however the usual route by the 
latter place, we pass through a flat and in some places 
swampy country. The soil, however, is exuberantly fertile ; 
the timber is fine, and the maple, the hickory, the elm, ash, 
hemlock and oak, adorn the forests ; the farms have a fine 
appearance, and the whole countiy seems in a state of rapid 
improvement. The frequency with which the public houses 
succeed each other, evinces the great travelling on this road. 

Much pains have been taken, in the western parts of New- 
York, to open and render convenient the highways ; but in 
few countries is the construction of good roads more diflScult. 
The rich fertility of the soil, and its depth of vegetable mould, 
though so very desirable in an agricultural point of view, 
oppose very serious obstacles to the formation of roads. In 
the winter season, unless when the surface is completely 
frozen, travelling must in this quarter be very difficult and 
painful. 

As we approach East Bloorafield^ eight miles beyond Ca- 
nandaigua, a change in the appearance of the country is 
visible; its flatness disappears, the hills rise to a considerable 
elevation, and the road becomes agreeably diversified. There 
is one feature in these hills, wliich is worthy of remark in a 
geological point of view ; they all, as far as Buffalo and the 

l2 



126 \^-EBT BLOOMFIELD-— GENESEE KIVER. 

Falls of Niagara, lie parallel to each other and to the Seneca, 
Cayuga, and other lakes ; schistose limestone, exti-emely fis- 
sured, is the first rock that is seen, overlayed by sand, round- 
ed pebble, and vegetable earth. 

Five miles beyond is the village of West Bhomfield, where 
there is an academy, and a number of houses and shops. A 
short distance beyond, we pass Honeoye Creek, the outlet of 
a small lake of the same name, and of Caneadea and HemlocJc 
lakes. Passing through the villages of Lima and ^von, the 
one three and the other twelve miles beyond Honeoye creek, 
we reach the Genesee River. This stream, rising on the 
table-land in the western part of Pennsylvania, where the 
Ohio and Susquehanna have their sources, and even inter- 
locking with the head waters of those mighty rivers, flows 
in a northerly direction through the western part of New- 
York. Its whole course in that state is about one hundred 
and twenty-five miles, and is in general a direct one; its small 
windings are however numerous, and embrace many tracts 
of rich and productive lowland. There are a number of 
rapids and cascades on this stream, during its passage through 
the state. Near its mouth, at Carthage, are falls of one hun- 
dred and four feet; at Rochester, just above, of ninety-seven 
and a half feet, and some i-apids, for two miles further, from 
the head of which the feeder leads into the Erie canal. 
Haifa mile below the lower fall, at Carthage, it has a sloop 
navigation, and harbour, to Lake Ontario, about four miles. 
From the head of the rapids above Rochester, it is navigable 
at high water to the falls, ninety miles by water, by land fifty, 
and at low water, seventy miles, though by land only thirty- 
five, tlirough a very rich and productive country. In the 
town of Nunda, at the north end of Alleghany county, there 
are two other falls, near each other, of sixty and ninety feet, 
above which it is again a sluggish stream, but quite small, 
and at Angelica, little more than a good sized mill-stream. 
These several falls amount to four hundred and seventy-six 
feet, enough to show that the river flows through a country 
of lofty elevation. Mr. SpaflTord, a gentlemen of great in- 
telligence and observation, to whom the state of New- York 
is exceedingly indebted, as well for the extent and minute- 
ness of his investigations, as for the valuable works he has 
published upon her history, statistics, topography, geology, 
&,c,j is of opinion, that fossil coal is to be found in the region 



GEVESEO — BIG-TREE TRACT, 127 

around the head waters of this stream. The name,, he tells 
us, signifies, in the original language of the country, *a plea- 
sant valley.' 

A short distance above Avon, on the alluvial shores of the 
river, is Geneseo, a township celebrated for the fertility of its 
soil, and its extensive and luxuriant farms. About twelve 
hundred acres, situated in a turn of the river, are known by 
the name of the Big-tree Tract, not from the size of the tim- 
ber, as we might at first suppose, but from an Indian chief 
named Big-tree, who with his little tribe inhabited this bend 
when this region was first settled by the English. It is 
now however the fai'm of Mr. Wadsworth, well known 
thi'oughout the United States for its fertility and products, 
but above all for the celebrity of its live stock. Mr. Wads- 
worth is a gentleman of New-England, who, about the end 
of the last century, accompanied by his brother, pierced the 
wilderness, then inhabited only by the savage and his prey. 
They selected the level country bordering on the Genesee, 
seated themselves down among Indians and wild uncultured 
forests, and contended for years with hardships, dangers and 
sickness. Their choice and judgment, however, have not 
misled them : from the portico of his house, Mr. Wadsworth 
may now look down over a wide champain country, rich 
with flocks and herds, or bending beneath luxuriant harvests. 
Around his mansion, the gentle declivities are adorned with 
clumps and groves of young acacias; but in the distance, the 
eye dwells on forests, in which a few poor Indians still hnger, 
and seek a precaiious subsistence by hunting the wild ani- 
mals, ere they have entirely disappeared before the restless 
footsteps of enterprise. To the right is seen the village of 
Geneseo, the largest in the county, containing the public 
buildings, and a little chapel, whose spu'e we behold arising 
from its bosom, an emblem as it were of gratitude for the 
blessings which have been lavished around. The whole 
is a scene which makes us love our country, and venerate 
the enterprising man who has created it. It leads the ima- 
gination to wander back to those times, when Rome could 
find her noblest citizens at the plough ; and while it recalls 
to our memory the many similar scenes which we may every- 
where behold as we pass along, it awakens in our hearts the 
enthusiasm, it forces from our lips the glowing language, of 



128 GENESEE FLATS — 'BATAVIA. 

the Roman poet, and tells us that we may without vanity 
apply it to a distant country and another age. 

Sed neque Medorum sylvae, ditissima terra, 
Nee pulcher Ganges, atque auro turbidus Hermus, 
Laudibus Italiae certent ; nee Bactra neque Indi — 
Hie gravidae fruges, oleaeque, armentaque laeta; 
Hie ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus aestas. 
Adde tot egregias urbes operumque laborem; 
Tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis; 
Fluminaque antiquos subterlabentia muros. 
Salve, magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellusl 
Magna virum ! 

If we have not yet the unnumbered cities rising amid every 
Tocky defile, if our rivers do not yet glide beneath walls 
mouldering with age, we still see on every side an innocent 
and a happy people, marching in the true road to greatness, 
with more rapid steps than any that the world has yet be- 
held. Long may it be in our power, when asked by the 
taunting European for our poetry and ruins, to point for the 
one to plains teeming with luxuriant hai-vests, and smiling 
farms and villages, springing up almost spontaneously from 
the wilderness — for the other, to the time-worn veteran, who 
spends the decaying yeai's of his life in rural cares, soothed 
by the blessings and gratitude of his countiy! 

Crossing the Genesee river on a substantial wooden bridge, 
we pass for about two miles over a plain called the Genesee 
Flats, an extensive alluvial ti*act. Leaving these, we enter 
a country whose soil is greatly inferior to that on the eastern 
side of the river; well cultivated farms become less frequent, 
and the oak forms the prevailing timber of the region. Pass- 
ing through the little villages of Caledonia and Le Roy, and 
crossuig Allen's and Black Creeksy we aiTive at JBatavia, the 
seat of justice of Genesee county. It is pleasantly seated on 
the northern shore of Tonnewanta Creek, and contains many 
good houses. Besides the coiu't-house and jail, it has several 
public buildings, the Holland Land Company's office, some 
elegant private mansions, and numerous stores, shops, hotels 
and taverns. A great many roads centre in this village, on 
one of which, about a mile north-west from the court-house, 
stands an arsenal Jielonging to the state, in which are depo- 



BAT ATI A — BUFiALO. 



129 



sited arms to a considerable amount, and various kinds of 
munitions of war and military stores. This appears to be a 
flourishing- town, and to carry on an active trade with the 
smi'ounding country : but the completion of the Erie canal 
has not had a favourable effect on the business of this or the 
neighbouring villages ; the towns which have sprung up im- 
mediately on its banks have absorbed much of the commerce 
which they formerly enjoyed, and they have cause to envy 
the good fortune of their younger neighbours — 

Mantua vae ! miserse nimium vicina Cremonae. 

Leaving Batavia, the road follows for some distance the 
valley of the muddy and sluggish Tonnewanta river, which 
is crossed at four miles from that place. The soil, of which 
the basis is schistose limestone, overlayed by sand, round 
pebbles and vegetable earth, is excellent, though too flat 
for health, or very beneficial cultivation. Ten miles farther, 
we reach Murder Creek^ beyond which the road rises into a 
hilly broken country, where, however, some extensive flats 
occur. This part of the country is rendered most worthy of 
remark, by the numerous masses of schistose fissured blue 
limestone. Many places are seen, where this rock covers 
large spaces, and has every appearance of having once form- 
ed the bed of a body of water. The timber in the neigh- 
bourhood consists chiefly of pine, elm and sugar-maple ; the 
soil is fertile, though agriculture must in many places be in- 
commoded by the large bodies of naked or slightly covered 
limestone, which we have mentioned. 

The next village is Williamsvilkf on EUicoffs Creek, a busy 
little place, having a post-office, a gi'eat many mills, a toll- 
bridge upwards of two hundred feet in length, and a number 
of handsome shops, inns and stores. From this village, the 
next stage brings us to Buffalo. That borough is seated on 
the fine though rather low plain, which forms the eastern 
shore of Lake Erie. The soil is a moist gravelly or clayey 
loam, with gentle slopes towards the waters of the lake. 

Like most other new towns, Buffalo is composed in a great 
part by one street, following the course of the road towards 
the eastward, though the town itself lies very nearly in a north- 
ern and southern direction. A few others cross the main street, 
but are little improved. Very little remains of the destmc- 
tive rage of an enemy ; most of the houses are rebuilt, but 



130 BUFFALO — BLACK HOCK. 

some vestig'es still exist to attest the fmy of Invasion. Many 
good and convenient, and some eleg-ant dwellings and store- 
houses, have been erected since the termination of the last 
war. Three or four excellent inns, and many decent taverns, 
offer their accommodations to the traveller. The number of 
houses now exceeds three himdred. 

Buffalo Creek, which enters the lake at this place, is form- 
ed by the union of Cayuga, Seneca, and Cazenovia creeks, 
which, rising in the hills to the south-east, approach Buffalo 
by a very rapid cuiTent ; this, however, subsides before the 
united waters enter Lake Erie. The harbour formed by this 
creek is excellent, and perfectly safe from all winds ^ but 
from the shallowness of tlie bar at its mouth, will only admit 
small vessels of four or five feet draught. A light-house is 
erected on the point between the lake and the creek, and is 
certainly a great advantage to those who navigate the lake. 
The creek is navigable for boats from the first forks above 
its mouth, from whence upwards it is interrupted by falls. 

Lai'ge vessels are obliged to be anchored out in the lake, 
or fall down below Bird island, in the mouth of Niagara river. 
The current begins to be apparent opposite the mouth of 
Buffalo creek, but is there very gentle, gradually and im- 
perceptibly augmenting as the strait contracts, until opposite 
Black Rock, where the whole volume is less than a mile 
wide ; the velocity of the stream cannot be less than five or 
six miles an hour, with a medium depth of from twenty to 
thii'ty feet. 

Leaving Buffalo for the Falls of Niagara, we proceed north- 
ward along the shore of the Niagara river, and in two miles 
reach Black Rock. The greater part of the distance is a 
sand-bank, which, after the first half mile, rising into a ridge 
probably ten feet above the water, has doubtless been pro- 
duced by the winds and waves dashing against the shore for 
many centuries, and it is probably daily increasing. Bird 
Islandy lying in the river as we pass along, is nothing more 
than a ledge of rocks, rising above the surface of the water; 
but it affords an admirable harbour, in which the vessels 
navig-ating the lake may find a shelter against every wind. 

Black Rock is a small but flourishing village, on the mar- 
gin of the Niagara river, which is here about two-thirds of a 
mile in width. Its banks rise by a gentle acclivity from the 
water; both sides of the river being cultivated, afford a fine 



GHAKD ISLAND FORT SCHLOSSEB. 131 

prospect, though from its having" been longer settled, the 
Canada shore is much more improved than that of New-York. 
The bottom of the river is composed of smooth rock, over 
which the water glides with a rapidity which is astonishing ; 
if the stream flowed over broken masses of stone, it would 
be impassable. 

In the Niagara river, about three miles below Black Rock, 
is situated Grand Island. It is twelve miles long, and from 
two to seven broad, and contains about eighteen thousand 
acres of land. The soil is strong, rich, and well adapted to 
cultivation; and much of it is covered with fine timber. The 
Indian title to this and other islands in the Niagara was ceded 
to the state of New- York, by a treaty made at Buffalo on the 
12th September 1815, between Governor Tompkins and 
others, commissioners on the part of the state, and the chiefs 
of the Seneca nation. The state paid one thousand dollars 
down, and secured an annuity of five hundred dollars. This 
island will probably, at no distant period, become very popu- 
lous and highly cultivated. 

Nearly opposite the middle of Grand Island, the Tonne' 
wanta and ElUcotfs Creek enter the eastern channel of the 
Niagara. Extensive marshes skul the former, from its mouth 
a long distance inland, and it is navigable for boats upwards 
of twenty miles. Soon after passing these streams, the river 
turns almost directly west ; its rapid current has however 
become tranquil, and we see notliing that would lead us to 
anticipate the awful scene we are approaching. 

At the lower extremity of Grand Island, and divided from 
it by a narrow strait, is Navy Island. Nearly opposite is 
Fort Scklosser, an old stockade at the mouth of Gill Creek, 
and the upper landing for the portage round the falls. Large 
store-houses have been erected here, where all the merchan- 
dise intended for the south-western country is deposited, 
and forwarded thence in boats to Black Rock. Its site is 
opposite the north end of Navy Island. This post was sur- 
rendered to the United States in 1796, agreeably to the pro- 
visions of Jay's treaty. It was nothing more than a stockade, 
and is now only known as a fort by retaining its former name. 
It was built by the British, soon after they gained possession 
of this country, in the old French war. A mile and a half 
more bring us to the little village of Manchester ^ situated on 
the bank of the river, close to the Falls. 



132 ERIE CANAL— HOME — ^ARSENAI. 

Having now reached Lake Erie, the western termination 
of the Ch^and Canal, it is proper, before proceeding farther, 
that we should mention to the reader some of the most strik- 
ing features which occur in that great work, after it passes 
Utica, where it will be recollected the road crosses and di- 
verges from it. 

On leaving Utica, its course is north-west, and passing 
Sadaquada creek on an aqueduct, it reaches in four miles 
Whitesboroughy a village containing a court-house and jail, 
two churches and upwards of one hundred houses. This 
place was first settled by Mr. White, a gentleman from 
New-England, in the year 1784, who hved to the advanced 
age of eighty years, when he beheld what he had found 
the utmost verge of civilization, changed into the outskirts 
of a rich and populous country, stretching far to the west. 
Passing by Oriskany village, about fifteen miles from Utica, 
is the town of Rome^ nearly half a mile to the north, and 
situated on the bank of the old canal connecting Wood 
Creek with the Mohawk. It is built on the site of old Fort 
Stanwix, a post erected by the British in 1758, at the enor- 
mous expense of two hundred and sixty thousand dollai's, 
and from a heap of ruins rebuilt and enlarged in the revo- 
lutionary war, under the name of Fort Schuyler,- its ruins are 
now scarcely visible. Rome is incorporated as a village, ex- 
tends west from the Mohav/k, in a handsome street of more 
than a half mile in length, and has one hundred houses and 
stores, one church and the county buildings. About half a 
mile west of this village, on the old canal, is situated the 
United States' Arsenal^ on the road from Rome to Sackett's 
Harbour, and three hundred yards north of the Erie canal. 
This estabhshment was located in 1813, and built in 1815 
and 1816. It stands on the Rome summit, the highest land 
between the Hudson and Lake Ontario, and was designed 
as a subordinate branch depot, under the ordnance depart- 
ment. The buildings consist of an ai'senal, forty by ninety- 
six feet, three and a half stories high, v/ith strong stone walls; 
a magazine, nineteen by sixty -five feet, one stor}"", sun'ound- 
ed by a stone wall fifteen feet high, tv.'o hundred and seven- 
ty feet perimeter ; a brick house for officers' quarters, thiily- 
seven by forty-five feet, two and a half stories above the 
basement, built and finished in good style -, a brick office, 
two wooden store houses, each one hundi-ed by twenty feet. 



ERIE CAS^Al— CHITTEWINGO CHEEK. 133 

two mechanics' shops, each seventy by nineteen feet, two 
houses for mechanics* quarters, each nineteen by forty-eight 
feet; besides a laboratory, wood-house, stable, &c. The 
whole are painted a cream colour, and appear very neat, and 
in excellent order, as do also the cannon, carriages, small 
arms and other public property deposited at this place. 
This depot was located and built imder the direction of Ma- 
jor James Dalliba, commanding officer at Watervliet, and 
it is no more than justice to say, that it is a neat, well exe- 
cuted establishment of the kind, and at once commodious and 
ornamental to the place. The buildings are in a chaste style 
of architectural design, a matter too often overlooked in 
public edifices. 

The canal now enters the valley of Wood Creek, a stream 
formerly of great importance, as forming part of the chain of 
navigation between the Oneida lake and the Mohawk ; but 
whose use has now dwindled away before the greater glories 
of the Erie Canal. Thirteen miles beyond Rome are the 
Verona Glass Works. The soil is highly favourable for 
works of this kind, as the sand which is used in the manufac- 
ture of glass is found in great abundance. Iron ore too is 
very plentiful, and several furnaces in the neighbourhood 
are supplied from its beds. Three miles farther bring us to 
Oneida Creek, down which the navigation might be render- 
ed perfectly good for small craft. 

The canal then passes through the townships of Lennox 
and Sullivan, for thirteen miles, to Chiiteningo Creek. Lime- 
stone, water-lime, and gypsum are in abundance, in parallel 
strata, in the hills near the canal. Iron ore is also found, 
probably the ai'giilaceous oxide, or bog ore, which works 
easily and makes the best bar iron. Across Chitteningo 
creek is an aqueduct, and there is a branch extending a mOe 
and a half to the south, and rising by fom* locks twenty -four 
feet, to the little village of the same name. The canal now 
winds among the head waters of several streams, which run 
northward and enter the Oneida lake. It passes through 
the township of Manlius, about four miles north of the vil- 
lage of that name, and continuing its winding course, has 
a side-cut to the little village of Orville, and arrives at the 
sixtieth mile stone from Utica, at the lock No. 54, the ter- 
mination of the celebrated Long Level. It here falls by 
two locks twenty feet, and in about tliree quarters of a 
M 



134 ERIE CANAL — SYRACUSE — SALIJTA. 

mile reaches Syracuse, a \'illag'e about five miles north of 
Onondaga, and a mile and a quarter south of the celebrated 
salt works at Salina, to which there is a branch canal. The 
salt trade and the manufacture of that article, employ a very 
large proportion of the inhabitants, who are necessarily col- 
lected into clusters around the various works. These springs 
belong to the people of this state, and an officer is appoint- 
ed to superintend the public interests in the works, who 
pays the revenues derived from them into the public funds. 
The duties on salt next year are estimated at one hundred 
and fort3^-five thousand dollars. 

But a small part of the land in this township is in a state 
of cultivation, the government having reserved the lands in 
wood, for supplying fuel to the salt works. The canal will 
now do this, and as the timber has been principally consum- 
ed, the lands will soon be sold to individuals and improved. 
The watei', from which the salt is made, rises in the marshes 
round its borders, or on the mai'gin of the lake. Wells, of 
eight to twelve feet deep, supply fifteen to twenty thousand 
gallons per day, containing sixteen to twenty-five ounces of 
salt per gallon of water. The quantity of first-rate water is 
immense, and there is no reasonable room for doubt that 
a supply of it might here be had, for making several millions 
of bushels of salt every year. The water contains, besides 
common salt or muriate of soda, several other substances, in 
small proportions, such as muriate of lime, oxyde of iron, and 
Epsom salts. But, with a httle care in the manufacture, these 
substances are excluded, so that they do little injury. Seve- 
ral materials are used in tlie process for this purpose, the best 
of which, say the most experienced manufacturers, are blood, 
milk, glue, and eggs. They are put into the pickle, collect 
the impm-ities, rise to the surface in the scum, and are all ta- 
ken off together. Lime, alum, resin, ashes and ley of wood 
ashes, are also used by some, but only partially, as they are 
supposed to act injuriously. It has always been the practice 
at these works, to hasten the processes to completion, and 
of course to make only fine salt; but experiments are now 
making to produce coarse salt, and there can be no doubt of 
its practicability, or of its great importance to the public. To 
do this, it is necessary to prepare the pickle, and allow it 
time to form its own cxystals, at perfect leisure, when the 
srystaliization will be natural, not forced, and the salt wil' 



ERIE CANAL — OKONDAGA AaXTEDUCT. loO 

be more pure and far more valuable. It is surprising that 
these facts have been so strangely overlooked. The quan- 
tity of salt made in this township yearly, for some years, has 
been near a half million of bushels, and the average price 
at the works sometliing less than twelve and a half cents per 
bushel, exclusive of the duty of twelve and a half cents im- 
posed by the state, which goes to the canal fund. 

A quarter of a mile beyond Syracuse, the canal falls six 
feet, and passes Onondaga Creek on a stone aqueduct of 
four arches, each of which is thirty feet span ; soon after, it 
rises, by lock No. 57, six feet, to a level of seven miles, on 
which it passes the village of Geddes, containing about fifty 
houses, and twelve or fourteen salt works which carry on a 
very extensive business. Oiisco, or, as it is sometimes called, 
Nine-mile creek, is crossed on a stone aqueduct of two arch- 
es, each of thirty feet, and the canal then rises, by one lock, 
eleven feet ; on this level it continues twelve miles, passing 
by the village of Cantouy which is just half way between 
Albany and Buffalo. The country here is level, and the soil 
is principally a warm sandy loam ; the Seneca River now 
winds along at the distance of a few miles from the canal, 
passing through or receiving the waters of several small lakes 
and streams. At about four miles from it, there are some 
very interesting remains of ancient works, among which are 
two forts, on the farm of Judge Mauro. The largest of these 
is on a high hill, and seems to have had an area of about 
three acres, surrounded by a ditch and a wall of earth. The 
gateways may be plainly seen. A large block of limestone, 
found in this fort, has writing upon it, in an unknown charac- 
ter. The other fort was smaller, and situated on lower 
ground. A well is said to have been discovered, on opening 
which great quantities of human bones were thrown out, 
mouldered to a chalky dust. It is supposed, from the ap- 
pearance of the place, and finding flints in the well, that an 
invading victorious army had hastily interred its dead at this 
spot. 

At Jordan^ six miles beyond Canton, the canal falls by 
one lock, No. 59, eleven feet, and crosses Skeneateless out- 
let on an aqueduct bridge of three arches. The village of 
SJieneateless is nine miles, and that of Elbridge two miles, to 
the left. Four miles farther is Weed's Basin, a village of se- 
venty houses, and the canal port of Axibumt which is about 



136 KRtB CAWAL— CATtTdA MARSHES. 

seven miles to the south, and to which there is a regular 
stag-e. At Bucksvilki on the Owasco Creek, is a lock of nine 
feet fall, and an aqueduct of four ai'ches, each twenty feet 
span. There are also dry docks, boat-houses, and large es- 
tablishments for the construction and repair of the craft pass- 
ing on the canal. Six miles farther we reach Montezuma, 
at the head of the Cayuga Lake. The canal, at this place, 
drops by a lock of seven feet fall, to the Seneca river level, 
and passes through the Cayuga marshes, which here spread 
along its banks. It may serve, like the canal through the 
Pomptine marshes near Rome, the double purpose of a con- 
veyance for passengers and merchandise, and a drain to car- 
ry off some of the superfluous waters. Indeed, as we glide 
over them in the passage-boat, we experience all the suffer- 
ings which poor Horace had to endure in his journey through 
those more classical fens ; 

Aquam quod erat teterrima ventri— 
Tum pueri nautis, pueris convicia nautse 
Ingerere ; atque maU culices, ranaeque palustres 
Avertunt somnos. 

Not far from Montezuma, is a celebrated sycamore tree, 
seventeen feet in diameter, and hollow in the inside. It is 
said that a sermon was once preached by a missionary, to 
thirty-five people, within it, and that fifteen more could have 
been conveniently admitted. 

Six miles beyond Montezuma, we reach lock No. 63, 
where the canal commences its rise to Lake Erie, with- 
out any intermediate depression. Five miles farther, is 
the village of Clyde^ situated on the bank of a river, now 
known by the same name : it has a post-office, some mills, 
and twenty or thirty houses. We now for a short time course 
along- the northern bank of Clyde River , or Mud Creek as it 
was formerly called ; that stream then makes a bend to the 
south, and we do not meet it again till we aiTive at Lyons, 
where it is joined by the outlet of Canandaigua Lake. Lyons, 
from the great advantages it possesses in situation, is becom- 
ing a place of very considerable importance; its population is 
rapidly increasing, and its trade is already prosperous and ex- 
tensive. It is two hundred and twenty-four miles from Albany. 
A little more than a mile westward of it, the canal is carried 
across Mud creek, on a large stone aqueduct of three arches. 



ERIE CANAL — IHOKDEaUOT CREEK. 137 

each of which is thirty feet on the chord. Keeping now to 
the southward of that stream, and of the turnpike road, it 
rises in the next fourteen miles twenty-four feet, and reaches 
the village of Palmyra. This is a place of very considerable 
business, the tliird in rank in the county, and increasing ra- 
pidly. Several large stores and store-houses, for the canal 
trade, are erected and erecting ; and a regular line of two 
canal packets has been running between Pittsford in Monroe 
county, this place, and Utica. It has one Presbyterian, one 
Methodist, and one Baptist church, an academy, two or three 
school-houses, a number of excellent shops and stores, seve- 
ral inns, and two tanneries, one of which is so extensive 
as to employ fifty hands, with a number of other mechanical 
establishments. It has three capacious basins on the canal, 
one of which has a dry dock. Mud creek runs eastward, forty 
rods north of the main street, which is one mile in length ; 
and the Erie canal is between this street and the creek, ex- 
cept that near the eastern border of the village it crosses this 
street; at the western extremity, the canal comes within two 
rods of it. There are many mills closely bordering on, and 
some within the village, which now contains a printing-office, 
post-office, and about one thousand inhabitants. Palmyra is 
thirteen miles north of Canandaigua, to which there is a 
regular daily stage, and one also to the Sulphur Springs. 

A mile and a quai'ter beyond Palmyra, the canal is again 
carried across Mud creek on an aqueduct, when it strikes off 
rather to the north-west, leaving entirely the valley of this 
stream, and entering that of Thomas Creek,- proceeding 
down this a short distance, it makes a remarkable bend, al- 
most at right angles, to the south, in order to keep up the level 
in passing Irondequot or Teoronto Creek. The embankment 
constructed to cany the canal over this valley, is one of the 
noblest and boldest specimens of engineering on the whole 
extent of the work. It is raised to the immense height of 
seventy-two feet above the creek, and that in a place where 
the soil is composed of gravel and sand, very little adapted 
to retain water : it was indeed necessary, for a great length 
of time after its formation, to have a watch regularly station- 
ed, to give the first notice of any breach that might occur ; 
none however took place, and the work has now become 
thoroughly consolidated. The Irondequot is passed under- 

m2 



138 EEIE CANAL — GENESEE AQ.T7EDirCT. 

neath, through an immense culvert, two hundred and forty 
feet in length, and twenty-six feet high, built of stone. 
Soon after passing this gigantic work, we rise eight feet, 
and reach in two miles the village of Pltfsfordf a busy little 
place, with upwards of a hundred houses. Six miles beyond, 
near Brighton^ the canal rises very rapidly, there being five 
locks within the space of a mile and a quarter, with a total 
lift of thirty-seven feet. The Genesee Level commences at 
this point, and extends westward sixty-five miles to Lockport 
in Niagara county; a mile and a half beyond, the feeder from 
the Genesee river, two miles in length, enters the main trunk. 
The canal now bends a little to the north, till it reaches the 
irenesee River. This large stream is crossed by the celebrat- 
ed aqueduct, perhaps the most remarkable and striking fea- 
ture of the whole work. It is placed on a rift of solid rock, 
a short distance to the south of the great fall, and is seven 
hundred and eighty feet in length. It consists of eleven 
large arches, formed of segments of circles, the crowns of 
which are eleven feet above the chord of the arch, and fifteen 
above the surface of the river : the two exterior arches have 
a span of forty feet, and pass under them water-courses for 
the supply of mills ; the other nine are fifty feet wide. The 
piers at their extremities are of a circular form, and terminate 
under the water-table in the shape of a half-dome, thus giv- 
ing a beautiful finish to the archways : above the water-table, 
the walls rise five feet to a cornice, which supports the tow- 
ing-path, and is guarded by a neat railing. Every one who 
examines this structure will be struck at once with its ex- 
treme beauty and simplicity, its excellence as an hydraulic 
work, and the skill exhibited in the selection of its site. All 
these it owes to the great man by whom it was designed, 
Benjamin Wright, well known everywhere as the distinguish- 
ed engineer who was the guide and director in the construc- 
tion of the Erie canal, but still better known, by those who 
are more intimately acquainted with him, as a man who so 
blends the strength of intuitive talent and the wisdom and 
experience of age, with the modesty, the candour and the 
probity of unassuming virtue, that, amid all the delicate and 
difficult situations in which his professional station has placed 
him, he has secured universal confidence, and has ever been 
as much the object of esteem as he must be of admiratiofn. 



EHIE CANAL — ^ROCHESTEB. 1S9 

Rochester^ which we now enter, is one of the most flourish- 
ing- towns in the state, and contains the county buildings. 
The population is about four thousand; and there are a great 
many mills and manufactories, caiTying on a profitable busi- 
ness. In the year 1812, this place contained but two or three, 
and those very ordinary, dwelhng houses ; and though we 
must admit that its growth has been rapid almost beyond 
example even in our own country, of all others the best sup- 
plied with such examples, yet, on a candid examination of its 
great natural and artificial advantages, it will be manifest that 
Rochester has by no means reached its maximum. Many of 
the buildings are very good, considering the rapidity with 
which they were buUt ; and the place has all the bustle of 
business, that characterizes commercial towns. 

Among the minerals discovered near this place, in exca- 
vating the canals, may be noticed the snowy gypsum and 
fluate of lime, beautiful specimens of which have been pro- 
cured. 

The distance from Rochester to Lockport, by the canal, 
is sixty-three miles, to Buffalo ninety-seven, to Utica one 
hundred and fifty-seven, to Albany two hundred and sixty- 
eight, to Albany by stage road two hundred and thirty-six, 
to Buffalo nearest route seventy-four, via Lewistown one 
hundred and two, Niagara Falls eighty-four, Oswego by 
water sixty, York (U. C.) one hundred, Kingston (U. C.) 
one hundred, Ogdensburg one hundred and sixty. 

A remarkable object at Rochester must not be passed un- 
noticed — we mean, the falls of the Genesee river. There are 
three of these cataracts : the first, a noble cascade of ninety- 
feet, rushing over a large shelf of horizontal limestone, seven 
hundred feet wide, with great grandeur ; the second is in- 
considerable, compared with that either above or below; the 
third, although it does not exceed eighty feet in height, is 
perhaps the most picturesque of the whole. The water has 
here been conducted from the main channel of the river, to 
several mUls, situated on each side ; and after having turned 
the wheels, forms some pretty little cascades on the side of 
the great fall. These mills are very useful to the neighbour- 
hood, and grind a vast quantity of flour, besides sawing tim- 
ber, &c. An old Indian, when he saw the first that was 
erected, after looking at it for some time, exclaimed, "Whits 
man is very cunning— he makes even the water work.** 



140 



ERIE CANAL THE EIBGE. 



On leaving Rochester, the canal for a short distance takes 
a northerly direction ; it then turns westward, and courses 
along" the south side of the Ridgey as it is called, sixty-diree 
miles, to the villag-e of Lockport. This remarkable ridge or 
elevation of land extends from the Genesee river to Lewistown 
on Niagara river, a distance of eighty miles. It is composed 
of common beach sand, and gravel stones, apparently worn 
smooth by the action of the water, and the whole intermixed 
with small shells. Its general surface preserves a very uni- 
form level, being raised to meet the unevenness of the ground 
through which it lies. It is found to be elevated about one 
hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty feet from 
Lake Ontario, from which it is distant six to ten miles, to- 
wards which there is a pretty uniform though gradual descent; 
and the whole intermediate space is said to be a good soil, 
exhibiting strong evidences of alluvial origin. This remark- 
able strip of land would appear as if intended by nature for 
the purpose of an easy communication. It is in fact a stupen- 
dous natural turnpike, descending gently on each side, and 
covered with gravel; and but little labour is requisite to make 
it the best road in the United States. When the forests be- 
tween it and the lake shall be cleared, the prospects and 
scenery which will be opened to a traveller on this route to 
the cataract of Niagara, will surpass all others in sublimity 
and beauty, variety and number. There is every reason to 
believe, that tliis remai'kable ridge was the ancient boundary 
of Lake Ontario. The gravel with which it is covered was 
deposited there by the waters ; and the stones everywhere 
indicate by tiieir shape the abrasion and agitation produced 
by that element. All along the borders of the western rivers 
and lakes, there are small mounds or heaps of gravel, of a 
conical form, erected by the fish for the protection of their 
spaw^n : these banks are found in a state that cannot be mis- 
taken, at the foot of the ridge, on the side towai'ds the lake; 
on the opposite side, none have been discovered. All rivers 
and streams which enter the lake from the soutli have their 
mouths affected with sand in a pecuhar way, from the preva- 
lence and power of the north-westerly winds. The points 
of the creeks which pass through this ridge, correspond ex- 
actly in appearance with the entrance of the streams into the 
lakes. These facts evince, beyond doubt, that Lake Ontario 
^as, perhaps one or two thousand years ago, receded from 



EaiE CANAL— BROCKPOHT. 141 

this elevated ground ; and the cause of this retreat must be 
ascribed to its having enlarged its former outlet, or to its 
imprisoned waters, aided perhaps by an earthquake, forcing 
a passage down the present bed of the St. Lawrence ; as the 
Hudson did at the Highlands, and the Mohawk at the Little 
Falls. On the south side of this ridge, in its vicinity, and in 
all directions through the country, the remains of numerous 
ancient forts are to be seen ; but on the north side, that is, 
on the side towards the lake, not a single one has been dis- 
covered, although the whole ground has been carefully ex- 
plored. Considering the distance to be, say seventy nules in 
length, and eight in breadth, and that the border of the lake 
is the very place that would be selected for habitation, and 
consequently for works of defence, on account of the facili- 
ties it would afford for subsistence, for safety, for all domes- 
tic accommodations and military purposes ; and that on the 
south side of Lake Erie these ancient fortresses exist in 
great number, there can be no doubt but that these works 
were erected when this ridge was the southern boundary of 
Lake Ontario, and consequently that their origin must be 
sought in a very remote age. 

Twelve miles beyond Rochester, on the canal, is Spetuer's 
JBasin, to the right of which, about two miles, is the little 
village of Parmay on the Ridge road. Three miles beyond, 
is BateSy a little place which has sprung up with the canal ; 
and five miles farther, Brockport, where the navigation ter- 
minated from the autumn of 1823 to that of 1824. On the 
Ridge road, a mile and a half to the right, is Clarkson or 
Murray village, with a post-office and about fifty houses. It 
is eighteen miles by the turnpike from Rochester; and around, 
the soil is generally of an excellent quality, and in a ra.pid 
state of improvement. There are a great number of salt 
springs; but the manufacture of salt has not yet been carried 
to any considerable extent or perfection, being still in its 
infancy, though pursued in a few cases to considerable ad- 
vantage. 

Five miles west of Brockport is Holleyy where the canal 
is carried over the east branch of Sandy Creeks on an em- 
bankment seventy-three feet high, as it is by another em- 
bankment across the west branch, nine miles farther on. In 
this neighbourhood salt springs have been discovered, and 
some of superior richness were opened in cutting the canal 



14:2 ERIE CAirAI— LOCKPORT. 

where it crosses Sandy creek. A very large tooth, weighing 
two pounds two ounces, was dug up from the bed of this 
creek, said to measure tliirteen inches in circumference. 
The tooth is in a sound state, and appears to have been one 
of the molares or grinders of some very large quadruped, 
perhaps a mammoth or elephant. 

A mile beyond is the little village of Newport ; and two 
and a half miles to the right, on the Ridg'e road, the town of 
Gaines, where there are a post-office, several stores, and a 
Jiumber of houses, with considerable trade. Otter Creek, a 
stream rising in the high land to the south, and entering Oak 
Orchard creek a little distance above its mouth, is passed by 
an embankment of fifty-five feet ; and Clark's Brook, a mile 
and a half beyond, by a long one, though of only fifteen feet. 
At Fish creek, three miles farther, there is another embank- 
ment, and a road aqueduct : indeed, this level is a complete 
succession of these works, for the numerous streams which 
arise in the high ridge or bluflf to the south, all force their 
way through the alluvial elevation which we have mentioned, 
leaving deep but narrow ravines, over wliich the canal must 
be carried. Oak Orchard Creek, across which it now passes, 
is one of the largest, rising forty miles in the interior, and 
near this spot it falls thirty feet ; Ridgway is seated on it, 
four miles below. Where the canal passes its western branch, 
is the little village of Middleport, which has sprung up with 
St; and after crossing Johnson's and Eighteen-mile Creeks^ 
we reach Lockport, sixty-three miles from Rochester. 

At present, this is the western limit of navigation of the 
canal. Its course here bends to the south, and, rising sixty- 
two feet, ascends the mountain ridge, along which it passes 
for seven miles to the Tonnewanta creek. The elevation of 
the canal at Lockport is one of the most interesting features 
on the whole line ; it is a work of the first magnitude, and 
one of the greatest of the kind in the world. Seated oii the 
brow of a perpendicular precipice seventy-six feet high, 
overlooking a capacious natural basin, with banks on each 
side of an altitude of more than a hundred feet, are five dou- 
ble combined locks, built in the most perfect manner. These 
locks are so constructed, that one line of boats may be de- 
scending, and another ascending, at the same time ; and it is 
vvortliy of remark, that the Genesee level, extending east- 
ward from this place, is about sixty -fi.ve miles in leng-th ; or 



EllIE CANAL — TONNEWANTA. 143 

the two levels united at Lockport embrace an extent of 
ninety-six miles, from Lake Erie to the east of Genesee river. 
There was another object, however, in the peculiar construc- 
tion of this system of locks : it was important to feed the 
Genesee level entirely from above, without using- the water 
of that river, as this could not be done but at the risk of great 
injury to the numerous mills and hydraulic works at Roches- 
ter. To accomplish this object, the construction of these 
double combined locks was resorted to; and while the facility 
of passage is greatly improved, they wiU be found, when 
aided by a fall of an inch per mile in the level, fully to an- 
swer the great purpose of supply, and preserve the water- 
power of the Genesee entirely uninjured. 

The village of Lockport itself should not be passed alto- 
gether without remark. In May, 1821, it contained but two 
buildings ; and it has now six hundi'ed, with a post-office, a 
printing-office, a weekly news-paper, and two churches. It 
will doubtless be the seat of extensive manufacturing esta- 
blishments, for which it has great advantag^es ; and this, add- 
ed to its situation on the canal at so important a point, must 
render its future Increase, if possible, even more rapid than 
it has ah'eady been. 

The seven miles from Lockport to the Tonnewanta, is one 
of the most difficult passes of the canal : it is through the 
mountain ridge, a deep cutting-, averaging- twenty feet in 
depth, and nearly three miles of it are through the soHd 
rock ; it is yet incomplete, but the work has been pursued 
with vigour, and it is expected that it will be finished during 
the present year. 

Entering the Tonnewanta Creek^ its channel forms the canal 
for twelve miles, and along" its margin a towing-path has been 
constructed. It is true that the universal experience of fo- 
reign countries is decidedly against using tlie channels of 
natural streams, as any part of the route of canal navigation 5 
and the numerous attempts wiiich have been made, and are 
even in a few instances still making, to convert rivers hito 
slack-water navigation, have in our own country been attend- 
ed with sucii signal disadvantage, expense, and even ruin, 
that the coiTectness of those opinions has been fully corro- 
borated. But the pecuhar fitness of this stream makes it 
an exception to these rules. Its waters are not liable to 
sudden rises bv freshets, its fall is but one inch in a mile, and 



144 £&I£ CAKAL — BLACK ROCK!. 

the dam erected across its mouth gives to that part of it wliich 
is used much more the character of a long narrow bay, or 
an artificial water-course, than a natural stream; besides 
which, at the point where its waters are first used for the 
canal, all the superfluous freshets and floods may be turned 
down the Oak Orchard creek into Lake Ontario. 

The dam across the Tonnewanta is four feet six inches 
high, placed just below the mouth of EUicott's creek ; and 
there is a lock which connects with Niagara river at this place. 
From here, the canal is as yet unfinished; it is however under 
contract, and the work rapidly advancing. Its course is along 
the shore of the Niagara river, for eight miles, to the harbour 
on Lake Erie, which is now constructing near the village of 
Black Rock. The whole of this work is not yet finished ; 
but it is in such a state of forwardness, as to render its com- 
pletion by the time of finisliing the other works, certain. 
The sloop-lock is nearly done ; and the dam connecting 
the main shore with Squaw Island is raised sufficiently above 
the surface of the water to prevent it from passing over. The 
embankment on Squaw Island was finished a year ago ; it is 
eight feet high, the breadth at its base is more than thirty 
feet, and at the top six feet. 

This harbour, at which the canal may be properly said to 
terminate, is connected with Buffalo creek by a short cut, 
•which is nearly completed. A violent controversy has arisen 
between the inhabitants of Black Rock and those of Buffalo, 
respecting the location of the harbour. The reasons which 
the canal commissioners have assigned for the selection they 
made are doubtless strong, and it would be presumptuous in 
a work like this to appeal for one moment from such autho- 
rity. Many will probably continue to think that Buffalo 
would have afforded a better situation ; but when we con- 
sider with how much skill the rest of the work has been 
designed and completed, we should not doubt that this part 
of it was determined on with equal prudence. 

Such is the course and the termination of this great work, 
a noble monument of the times in which we live. In that 
future history, which glancing over the actions of every na- 
tion, when the views of partial policy shall be forgotten, 
and the objects of temporary aggrandizement have become 
insignificant, perhaps the passage of the Simplon and the 
Erie Canal will be regarded as the two noblest works of 



ROCHESTER TO LEWlSTOWJiT. 14A' 

art which have occupied the ingenuity and resources of the 
age. Yet how strong, in some respects, is the contrast be- 
tween them ! The one, while we confess its utiUty, while 
we admire the grandeur of its design, and the energy of that 
mind which planned and performed it, is yet remembered 
as the work of a military ruler of a powerful kingdom, to 
facilitate his gigantic views, and to spread over new regions 
the terror of his arms — the other will be recognised as the 
effort of an infant people, scarcely known in the catalogue 
of nations, guided by no- views of ambition, but seeking only 
to promote the prosperity of their country; anxious to com- 
municate the blessings which a fertile soil, a fortunate situa- 
tion, and a free government, had afforded them, to every 
portion of the state, and to spread rapidly and effectually 
those precious institutions which secure civil liberty, and 
promote and extend knowledge and virtue, and all in life 
that is admirable and sacred, through boundless though yet 
unpeopled regions, which are destined for the seats of mighty 
nations. 



We have already described the route from Buffalo to the 
Falls of Niagara ; but that is certainly not the best road by 
which to approach them : we come upon them from behind, 
and have no opportunity of viewing the high cliffs which 
extend below, along either margin of the river. Indeed, 
Buffalo is at present a place of so little interest, and much 
of the road to it is so disagreeable, that if we were to recom- 
mend a course to a traveller, it would be to leave the main 
route at Canandaigua, or, if he wished to visit Geneseo, and 
the fine country on the banks of the Genesee river, at Avon, 
and proceed directly to Rochester. By this means, he would 
pass along that part of the middle road which is most inter- 
esting, visiting the beautiful villages at the heads of the dif- 
ferent lakes, see those fine sheets of water themselves, and 
then, instead of pursuing his journey through a country infi- 
nitely less interesting, he would strike into that through 
which the canal passes, observe the flourishing towns rising 
as if by magic on its shores, examine the aqueducts, the 
locks, the embankments, and the various works of art con* 
structed upon it, and, above all, travel on the Ridge road, or 
alluvial wav, through a rich and fertile countrv, abounding 
N 



146 TUSCAEORA UfDIANS — LEWISTO-VTW. 

in fine prospects. From Rochester to Lewistown is a dis- 
tance of eig"hty miles, which is passed in one day, the road 
leading through Parma, Clarkson, Gaines, Hartland, and 
several other villages. 

About two and a half miles before we reach Lewistown, 
is a settlement of the Tuscarm'a Indians, on a tract of land 
given them by the Senecas many years since, which is three 
miles long and one mile broad. This tribe came from Noith 
Carolina, about the year 1712, and joined the confederacy of 
the Five Nations, themselves making the sixth. They still 
have an interest in a very large tract of land in North Carolina, 
which will not be extinct before the year 1911. They hold 
also, in this state, four thousand three hundred and twenty- 
eight acres of land, ceded to them by the Holland Land 
Company. As a nation or tribe, they are rich, and many of 
them as individuals. They have among them a Presbyterian 
clergyman, and a young woman who keeps an English school. 
They had a meeting-house, which was bui'nt during the late 
wai', December 19, 1813, but it is now rebuilt. 

This tribe, hke all the other Indian settlements in the state- 
is divided into two parties, the Christian and the Pagan ; the 
former submit in a great degree to the usages and many of 
the customs of the whites, but the latter still glory in pre- 
ser\ing the habits and manners of their ancestors. When 
they wish to sell any of their land, a deputation of the chiefs 
visits the governor, a kind of council is held, the belts of 
wampum are given, and the orators of the party make their 
speeches. They affect to despise those who employ their 
time in making baskets, and support themselves, though this 
is now almost impracticable, by hunting, where any wild 
beasts yet linger in the forests, not enth'ely driven away by 
the encroachments of civilization. The Pagan party of the 
Tuscaroras has within a few years left this village, removed 
to the shores of Grand river in Upper Canada, and settled 
among the Mohawks. 

Lewistown Itself is eligibly situated at the foot of the moun- 
tain ridge, on the east banlt of the Niagara River, twenty -seven 
and a half miles below Buffalo, (twenty-nine and a half, by 
the Falls), seven north of Fort Niagara, twenty west of Lock- 
port, and three hundred and fourteen nearly west from Al- 
bany. This village stands nearly opposite to Queenston in 
Canada, at the head of navigation of Niagara river, and at the 



FALLS OF KIAGARA. 147 

foot of the portage around the Falls. It consists of about 
fifty dwellings, besides stores, shops, a church, and a two 
story stone school-house. It is a place of business, has the 
custom-house for the Niagara district, and has been liberally 
patronised by the state : a grant of land, for the support of 
schools, constitutes a fund of about six thousand dollars. 
There is a mail, three times a week, by the way of Roches- 
ter, between Canandaigua and this place, carried in a line of 
post-coaches from Rochester. 

The Falls are seven miles above Lewistown, from which 
you proceed up the eastern shore of the Niagara Rivera as it 
sweeps along over its rough bed, worn away by the continual 
action of the waters. There can be no doubt that the ridge 
at Lewistown was once the precipice over which the torrent 
poured, and that in the lapse of ages it has gradually destroy- 
ed the rocks, as far as its present site. Comparing it with 
other streams, we may, without any bold stretch of imagina- 
tion, look forward to the period, when the great rocky barrier 
which spreads across the mouth of Lake Erie shall be de- 
stroyed, and, like the Hudson, the St. Lawrence, and the 
Mohawk, a river shall flow either quietly or with a few rapids 
between the two lakes. The waters of Lake Erie will then 
probably sink below their present level, and a tract of allu- 
vial country be left along its margin, similar to that which 
we have seen on the shore of Lake Ontario. 

As you proceed, a partial glimpse of the cataract may be 
caught, but it is soon lost behind the forests, leaving merely 
the cloud of mist which rises high into the air, and the thun- 
der which reverberates for ever upon the ear, to mark the 
nearness of the mighty cataract. At length, w^e reach the 
spot. To describe the scene which then bursts upon our 
view, would be as hopeless for the pen as it has ever proved 
for the pencil. In vain might we bid the reader to imagine 
the vast body of water, whirling and fretting and foa;ning 
among the rapids above — the deep and deatb-Lke stillness 
with which it approaches the precipice, then, gathering all 
its mighty force, the plunge which it makes into the abyss 
below— the vapour clouds, rolling above in every fantastic 
form — ^the rainbow, now glowing, now fading away, on tlieir 
varying surface — and, above all, the ceaseless roar, which 
diffuses through the mind a feeling of ungovernable awe. 



148 i'ALLb OF NIAGARA. 

Lo ! v/here it comes like an eternity. 

As if to sweep down all tilings in its track! 

Charming" the eye with dread— a matchless cataract^ 

Horribly beautiful ! but on the verge. 

From side to side, beneath the g"Httering morn. 

An iris sits, amidst the infernal surge, 

Like Hope upon a death-bed, and unworn 

Its steady dyes, while all around is torn 

By the distracted waters, bears serene 

Its brilliant hues, with all their beams unshorii. 

Resembling, 'mid the tortiue of the scene. 

Love watching Madness with unalterable mien. 

A scene like this is not to be described — it is only to be 
felt. As it stands alone in the history of nature, with nothing 
to equal or resemble it, so, while we rest upon its verge, 
will the breast g'low with sensations before unknown, and 
swell with emotions before unfelt. We gaze with mute 
wonder on the scene before us, and forget, in the contem- 
plation of nature's mighty works, the world that is around 
us, and the busy insignificance of man. 

The cataract of Niagara is twenty-two miles below Lake 
'J^v'ie, and fourteen miles above Lake Ontario. It is formed 
by a body of limestone, which crosses the river in an irregu- 
lar shape, about fourteen hundred yai^ds in length. This 
ridge is divided into three parts : — the American fall, three 
hundred and eighty yards long ; Goat Island, three hundred 
and thirty yards across ; and the Horse-Shoe fall, seven hun- 
dred yards. The perpendicular height of the American fall 
is one hundred and sixty -four feet ; that of the Horse-Shoe, 
one hundred and fifty-one. The Table Rock is a platform 
of considerable extent, on the western shore : it projects over 
the cavern below the cataract, and runs up to the side of 
the precipice, to which you can approach so near as to wash 
your hands in tl»e water a few feet above it. It is nearly on 
a level with the top of the mass of water, immediately above 
the great pitch. It is supposed to be a part of the veiy ledge 
over which the water is precipitated, but which is worn down 
a number of feet below its original level. 

The Table Rock is chequered with a variety of seams and 
fissures, some of them wide enough to admit a man's hand. 



FAILS or XIAGARA. 149 

Innumerable names and initials of visitors are inscribed on it, 
many of them with the dates of their visits : two were to be 
seen, not long since, cut in the year 1606, that is, two hun- 
dred and nineteen years ago. By a plumb-line let down over 
its edge, it has been ascertained to be one hundred and 
seventy-two feet high. It requires some coxirage to venture 
to the margin, and look down into the abyss beneath. 

The Table Rock has been esteemed the most eligible po- 
sition for viewing the cataract. In some respects, it is so i 
but the stupendous object is too near to have its full effect ; 
besides, it is not sufficiently in front. The Still-house, on the 
same level, but further down the brink of the river, is a bet- 
ter station, being more distant and less lateral. 

From Goat Island also, it is seen to great advantage. This 
beautiful little islet, placed in the midst of the torrent, it is 
conjectured, was rent from the American side by some vio- 
lent convulsion of nature ; as the strata of the rocks, the soil 
and the growth of timber, correspond with those upon the 
main land. A little island is separated from its eastern side, 
by a small channel of water passing through, and forming as 
it were a distinct cascade. This has been called Montmo= 
renci Fall, in allusion to the celebrated cataract near Quebec^ 

The main body of water is west of the island, where the 
edge has been worn into an irregular shape by the force of 
the water, from which circumstance it has acquired the name 
of the Horse-Shoe fall. The toe of the shoe, however, is 
now an angle, rather than a curve ; but the inhabitants and 
early visitors affirm that it was formerly more round, and 
has gradually assumed its present angular form, within their 
recollection. The ledge of this fall is also worn so deep, 
that the sheet of water passing over it is supposed to be at 
least ten feet thicker than the other fall. Mr. Forsyth, who 
has resided upon the spot for more than forty years, says, 
that within his recollection, the centre of this fall has receded 
from ten to fifteen yards ; and, as some intelligent travellers 
have placed upright a few large stones in front of the hotel, 
which, when taken in a line, point exactly to that spot, it 
will of course be ascertained, at the end of a certain number 
of years, how much this centre recedes annually. 

That portion of the cataract which hes east of the island, 
is called the American or Fort Schlosser fall. The last name 
is derived from a settlement on the eastern shore, which^ 

n2 



130 FALLS OF NIAGARA, 

though never much fortified, has long been known as Fort 
Schlosser. 

The chasm below the falls is two hundred feet deep, and 
not half a mile wide; further down, it becomes still narrower. 
The sound of the fall is audible at various distances, accord- 
ing to the direction of the wind, and state of the atmosphere; 
it is frequently heard at York, fifty miles distant, and the 
cloud of vapour has been seen as far as seventy miles. The 
quantity of water discharged in an hour has been computed 
at one hundred and two milhons, ninety-three thousand, seven 
hundred and fifty tons. 

Great diversity of opinion has existed as to the proper way 
of accenting and pronouncing the word Niagara; and custom 
at length seems to have established it in a manner different 
from that adopted by the aborigines. ** I have been some- 
times asked," says Colonel Timothy Pickering, "what was 
the Indian pronunciation. By the eastern tribes, it was 
Ne-au-gau-raw, or rather Ne-bg-au-roh ,- the second syllable 
was short, with the accent upon it ; the sound of the last syl- 
lable was indefinite, much as we pronounce the last syllable 
of the word America. I account for the sound of i as e in Nia- 
gara, and the broad sound of «, from its having been written 
by the Low Dutch of Albany and the French in Canada. In 
writing the Indian names in my treaty of 1794, I took some 
pains to get their Indian sounds, and to express these by 
such a combination of letters as would have been given to 
them had the names been English : Kon-on-dai-guai for in- 
stance, the place where the treaty was held ; the accent be- 
ing on the syllable dai. The Senecas called the falls or river, 
not Nt-og-au-roh, but Ne-auh-gaw; the second syllable auh 
gutturally, with the accent upon it, and the last syllable long." 

The grandeur of the cataract seems to have imparted to it 
a sanctity among the Indian nations, which is the more sur- 
prising, as their religious rites were so little marked by this 
kind of superstition. They were in the habit of offering 
sacrifices to it as a god, until the Catholic priests visited their 
country. 

Though of course the Falls are the great object of interest 
to a traveller visiting Niagara, there are yet other scenes in 
the neighbourhood, which will claim and receive much of 
Jus attention. The shores of the river, especjally the eastern 
one, were the theatre of many gallant exploits in the last 



war between the United States and Great Britain ; and Erie, 
Bridgewater and Queenston, will revive recollections or ex- 
cite emotions which are not unpleasing, and must be gra- 
tifying to an American bosom. Every step that we tread 
is on the grave of heroes. Who would think, that the gay 
fields on which the green grass now waves high, or the yel- 
low harvest spreads its golden mantle, scarcely ten years since 
were desolated by the inroads of ferocious waifare ? Who 
can look upon the silent walls of the fortresses around, and 
beheve that so short a time has passed, since the thunder of 
destruction was heard upon their ramparts, and each embra- 
sure poured out the torrent of war ? The place has already 
become classical ; we already seek out with anxiety the spots 
distinguished by some incident of more than ordinary gal- 
lantry 5 we muse upon the different events, as^ on scenes 
which have long passed away, on which history has set her 
seal, and feel that there is a nameless and indescribable plea- 
sure in ti'acing all that story or tradition has preserved of the 
occurrences of the past. 

Fort Erie is situated in Upper Canada, twenty-one miles 
above the Falls, on the point of land formed by the termina- 
tion of Lake Erie and its junction with Niagara river. It 
stands on ground elevated about fifteen feet above the water. 
Prior to the war, it was but a slight fortification; and in 
the fluctuating progress of it, it was alternately possessed by 
both araiies. In May, 1813, after the capture of Fort George, 
it was abandoned by the British, and occupied by a corps 
detached for that purpose from General Dearborn's army. 
Before the close of the same campaign, it was re-occupied by 
the British. On the 3d of July, 1814, it sun-endered without 
much resistance to General Brown's army, as soon almost as 
they landed from the other shore, some of them above and 
others below the fort. General Drummond, who then com- 
manded the British forces in this district, aware of its impor- 
tance, determined to regain possession, and commenced a 
regular siege. On the night of the 15th of August, he made 
a desperate effort to carry it by storm, but was gallantly re- 
pulsed. He had divided his force into three columns, which 
were to attack the fortress at the same instant, in chfferent 
points ; the right led by Colonel Fischer, the centre by Co- 
lonel Dmmmond, and the left by Colonel Scott. The night 
was dark and rainy, but the American sentinels were alert 



152 FORT ERIE. 

and on the watch. With stealthy pace, the division under 
Fischer advanced to the battery on the right, their scahng- 
iadders prepared, their bayonets fixed, and sanguine in the 
hopes of immediate success ; but, at the moment when it 
seemed most probable, with cool and deliberate courage, our 
brave troops, headed by the gallant Wood, opened upon 
them a sudden and tremendous fire. For a short time, they 
bore the unexpected attack — ^but it was only for a short time; 
the whole column was soon thrown into confusion, and forced 
to retire from the field. Having re-organized his force, Colo- 
nel Fischer again led his troops to the onset ; again were they 
repulsed, with immense slaughter. Convinced of his inability 
to get possession of the battery, and feeling the deadly effects 
of the incessant showers of grape-shot which were thrown 
upon him, he determined as his next effort to pass the point 
of the abattis, by wading breast-deep into the lake, to which 
the works were open. In this attempt he was also unsuc- 
cessful, nearly two hundred of his men being either killed 
or drowned, and the remainder precipitately falling back. 
It was in vain to continue the destructive and unsuccessful 
conflict. Without waiting to know with what result his col- 
leagues on the centre and left had made their respective at- 
tacks, he retreated precipitately to his camp, with the small 
remnant of the column he had led on, but a few hours before, 
in all the confidence of victory. 

In the meanwhile, a brilliant fire of cannon and musketry 
lighted up the lines on the right; but Colonels Drummond 
and Scott were not more fortunate than their companion. 
Twice did they lead up their troops to the assault, and as 
often were they driven back. At length, having moved 
round the ditch, covered by the darkness of the night, and 
the heavy cloud of smoke which rolled from our cannon and 
musketry, and enveloped the surrounding objects, they re- 
peated the charge, re-ascended the ladders, and, with their 
pikes, bayonets and spears, fell upon our gallant artillerists. 
The noble spirits of Captain WilUams and Lieutenants M'Do- 
nough and Watmough, with their brave men, were for a time 
overcome, many of them having received severe and mortal 
wounds. Our bastion was lost, and Lieutenant M'Donough, 
being severely wounded, demanded quarter, which was re- 
fused by Colonel Drummond himself. The heutenant, then 
seizing a handspike, nobly defended himseUj until he was 



shot down with a pistol by the monster who had refused hiiu 
c[iiarter, and who often reiterated the order, ** Give the 
damned Yankees no quarter!" This officer, whose bravery, 
if it had been tempered with mercy, would have entitled liim 
to the admiration of every soldier — this hai'dened murderer, 
soon met his fate. He was shot through the breast, while 
repeating- the order to "give no quarter!" 

The battle now raged with increased fury ; after a despe- 
rate conflict, the bastion was at last recovered; and both the 
commanding officers having fallen, the British found that it 
was in vain longer to contend, drew off their forces from the 
assault, and retreated to their camp. Two hundred and twen- 
ty-two men were left dead upon the field, and two hundred 
more are supposed to have been killed in the woods, or 
floated down the Niagara. The whole loss of the British, by 
their own account, exceeded nine hundred; while that of our 
troops was only eighty -four. 

Disappointed in his design of taking Fort Erie by storm. 
General Drummond continued to prosecute the siege with 
more caution. In a month, he had completed an advanced 
line of batteries, entrenchments and block-houses, reaching 
from the Niagara round to the lake, at the distance of five 
hundred yards from the fort. His camp was two miles in the 
rear of these works, so that his reserve was out of the range 
of the fire from the fort, while the batteries thus planted 
could play upon it with effect, and a new one was just ready 
to be opened. 

To prevent this, General Brown, who had now taken com= 
mand of the post, performed one of the most gallant exploits 
which adorn our annals. About tv/o o'clock in the afternoon 
of the 17th of September, the troops were led out from the 
fort in two divisions; and after a severe conflict, in which the 
gallant Colonels Wood and Gibson fell fighting at the head 
of their columns, they succeeded in storming three of the 
enemy's batteries, two block-houses, and the intervening 
line of entrenchments, spiked the cannon, and blew up one 
magazine. The object of the sortie being accomplished, the 
whole body retm'ned to the fort, bringing with them three 
hundred and eighty prisoners, and having destroyed the 
fruits of forty-seven days' labour. From the spirited resist- 
ance of the enemy, the loss sustained by the assailants was, 
as may be supposed, severe. The official report of the British 



154 CHIPPEWA. 

commander acknowledged the loss of six hundred and nine 
men, one hundred andfifteen of whom were killed, one hundred 
and seventy-eight wounded, and three hundred and sixteen 
prisoners. The enemy claimed a victory ; but their retreat, 
which took place a few days afterwards, palpably contradict- 
ed this pretension. At the close of the campaign, the fort 
was dismantled ; General Brown crossed the river, and went 
into winter quarters. 

The village at Fort Erie is a pleasant little place, and the 
harbour is a good one. During the war, of course much 
property was destroyed in and around it. The march of an 
army, even of defenders, and much more of invaders, is ge- 
nerally tracked with desolation; and amidst the invasions and 
retreats, the marches and countermarches, the encampments, 
sieges and battles, which diversified the war on the Niagara 
frontier, it was scarcely possible that the inhabitants should 
not suffer in their habitations and property. Of these suffer- 
ings, the village of Fort Erie had its share. 

From Fort Erie, the road courses along the shore of the 
Niagara ; and just before we reach the Falls, Chippewa 
Creek crosses our path. The countr}'' over which we pass 
Is level, and the road is nearly straight, running along the 
bank, which is agreeably but not loftily elevated above the 
water : the view is delightful. The Chippewa, having pass- 
ed over a plain of forty miles, and through a number of 
swamps and strata of discolouring earth, is a sluggish dark 
water, not very fit for culinary purposes, or even for washing; 
and as it meets the clear rapid stream of the Niagara, instead 
of intermixing with it, it passes along near the shore, forming 
a yevy visible contrast. It can be traced all the way down 
to the Falls. 

The village of Chippewa is situated on both sides of the 
creek, close to its enti'ance into the river. The land carnage 
from Queenston ends at this place, and goods are transported 
hence in boats to Fort Erie. Here are a fort and barracks 
for the troops. In the course of the late war, it was alter- 
nately the place of encampment of both armies. The pljdn 
south of the creek was also the ground of the celebrated 
battle fought July 5th, 1814, between General RialPs army 
and the American forces commanded by General Brown, who 
was assisted by Generals Scott, Ripley and Porter. 



CHIPPEWA, 155 

In this battle, the forces on each side were equal. The 
attack was commenced by a division of the British, led on 
by General Riail. General Porter, with a column of the 
American army, met, attacked and after a short but severe 
contest, drove the enemy's right before him. His route to 
Chippewa was intercepted by the whole British column ar- 
rayed in order of battle, and against this powerful force tlie 
volunteers desperately maintained theh' ground, until they 
were overpowered by the superiority of disciphne and num- 
bers. 

As soon as the firing became regular and heavy, between 
the volunteers and the enemy. General Brown, rightly con- 
jectm'ing that all the British regulars were engaged, immedi- 
ately ordered Scott's brigade and Towson's artillery, to ad- 
vance and draw them into action on the plains of Chippewa. 
General Scott had no sooner crossed the bridge over Street's 
creek, than he encountered, and gave battle to the enemy. 
Captain Towson commenced his fire before the infantry bat- 
talions were in battle airay, and upon their being formed, 
took post on the river, with three pieces, in front of the ex- 
treme right, and thence played upon the British batteries. 

The conflict now raged with extreme violence, and great 
gallantry was displayed on both sides ; but the ardour with 
which the American troops, especially the brigade under 
General Scott, pressed forward, was resistless; repulsed at 
eveiy point, thwarted in every effort, the enemy began at 
length gradually to retire, until they reached the sloping 
ground in the vicinity of Chippewa, where, being hard press- 
ed by the victors, their retreat was changed into a rapid and 
disorderly flight. The advance of the Americans was how- 
ever checked by the batteries at Chippewa, behind which 
the British troops had rallied. General Brown now ordered 
up the artillery, with a view to force the works ; but finding 
that the day was nearly spent, and the batteries of the ene- 
my strongly fortified, he withdrew his forces, and retired to 
the camp. ^This victory established the reputation of the 
American troops, and the character of the commanders en- 
gaged ; raised the confidence of the nation in its capacity 
for defence ; and taught the enemy a useful lesson, from 
which we cannot doubt they subsequently profited. 

Proceeding along the western shore of the river, we reach 
another battle-ground, that of Bridgewaier^ or, as it is called 



156 BRIDGEWATEB. 

by the British, Lnindy^s Lane. This action commenced a 
little after six o'clock in the evening- of the 25th July 1814, 
between the American troops under General Scott, and the 
British commanded by General Drummond. The enemy 
had collected the whole of their force in the district, and 
were reinforced by the troops which had been detached 
from Lord Wellington's army, just landed Trom King-ston. 
For two hours the two hostile lines were within twenty yards 
of each other, so frequently interming-led, that often an offi- 
cer would order an enemy's platoon. 

The ground was obstinately contested until nine o'clock 
in the evening", when General Brown, perceiving- that the 
enemy's artillery was most destructive, decided to storm the 
battery. Colonel Aliller, the hero of Mag-agua, was ordered 
on this enterprise ; he approached the enemy's cannon with 
a quick step, and delivered his fire within a few paces of the 
enemy's line ; who, after receiving two or three rounds, and 
a vigoroiis charge, retired to the bottom of the hill, and aban- 
doned his cannon. Only one piece was brought off the 
field, for want of horses. The enemy now gave way and re- 
treated ; but they were follov/ed for some distance, though 
the main body of our army was employed in securing the 
prisoners and bringing off the wounded. 

The cessation however was short, as Lieutenant-General 
Drummond arrived at this interval with a reinforcement. 
The enemy renewed the action, while our troops were thus 
busily employed in clearing the ground of wounded 5 but 
the gallant Americans formed with alacrity, and after a close 
engag'ement of twenty minutes the enemy were repulsed. 
The army now effected the removal of nearly if not all the 
wounded, and retired from the ground, it being nearly twelve 
o'clock at night; they returned to their encampment in good 
order. Unfortunately, owing to the want of horses, and the 
dismantled state of the cannon themselves, our troops were 
forced to leave upon the field the artillery which they had so 
nobly captured. This was the more to be regretted, iis the 
enemy, with a boldness which they also assumed in other 
instances, claimed a victory when their defeat was apparent 
and their loss immense. 

On the whole, this was a brilliant display of the courage and 
powers of the American troops, and one which will not be 
soon forgotten : the forces of the enemy embraced several 



BURNING SPRING — WHIRLPOOL. 157 

regiments of veteran soldiers, who had fought in the Peninsu- 
la, and their actual numerical force was the greatest ; they 
fought with extreme bravery, and nothing but the superior 
coolness of our ti-oops, and the skill with which they were 
commanded, could have gained so gratifying a triumph. 

At Bridgewater MillSf not far from the battle ground, is a 
burning spring, known before the mill was erected, and now 
open to view. It emits a vapour of some bituminous or com- 
bustible quality. A candle applied near the water excites 
a flame, which burns for some minutes. The blaze is clearly 
perceptible in the daytime, and is said to be much more 
visible in the night. It is also said, by those who have made 
experiments, that it will produce such a degree of heat as to 
cause water, placed over it in a suitable vessel, to emit steam, 
and even to boil. 

Proceeding along the shore of the Niagara JRiveVy to 
Queenston, seven miles below, we find it walled on each 
side by steep irregular cliffs, nearly or quite perpendicular, 
and in some places even projecting over. About three 
miles from the falls there is a stupendous vortex, known by 
the name of the Whirlpool, formed by a sudden turn of tl)e 
river round a bluff. The water is agitated to a great degrefe, 
and it is said that a mist sometimes arises wliich can be seen, 
at a considerable distance. Trees and beams of timber are 
whirled around, and almost erected on one end, then turned 
and plunged again into the foaming eddy. 

The road continues along the same plain, on the western 
shore, four miles fai'ther, till we reacli the ridge from the 
upper to the lower countiy, the former being on a level 
with the banks of Lake Erie, the latter with tiiose of Lake 
Ontario. This ridge is directly opposite to the one vvliich we 
have mentioned as passing along a few miles soutli of Lake 
Ontario, through the state of New-York, and striking the 
river at Lewistown, where the stream doubtless brolce 
through it at som.e far distant day, leaving the perpendicular 
cliffs which now form the shores. Nov does it stop here ; it 
inins westward, and winds round the head of Lake Ontario ; 
and a swell of it, twelve miles west of the river, is called the 
Short Hills, where a spectator can have a view of the two 
lakes from the same spot. The ridge he stands on is an ir- 
regular offset, between the two great natural parterres or 
plains of Lakes Erie and Ontario, 
O 



158 ISVIATX REMAIirS — aUEXITSTON. 



■ 



At Mount Dorchester, an elevated part of the high lands, 
and near the house of Sir P. Maitland, is an object of curio- 
sity well worth some notice. A few years ago, a large oak 
tree, measuring at the base five feet in diameter, was blown 
down, and in the opening made in the soil by the roots of 
the tree which were torn up, a large quantity of human bones 
was discovered. A further excavation presented to view an 
immense collection, regularly disposed, and forming perfect 
skeletons ; among them were found armlets, pipes, beads, 
heads of tomahawks, and other Indian articles. Several large 
conch-shells, too, were discovered, some of them bored so 
as to be used as a rude kind of musical instrument : it is said 
that these shells are of a species to be found only in the 
islands of the Pacific, or on the western shores of America, 
and they certainly resemble that upon the dress of tlie king 
of Owhyhee, which is preserved in the museum at New-York; 
a circumstance that may throw some light upon the investi- 
gations of philosophers, relative to the ancient inhabitants of 
this continent. 

The spot where these remains have been found is about 
seven miles from Lake Ontario, to which the ground slopes 
away, and is thus similar in its situation to the ancient works 
we have spoken of as existing in the state of New-York. 
Like them, it bears every appearance of a military work ; 
and it is said, that when the ground is freed from the leaves 
of trees which are now strewed over it to a considerable 
depth, holes resembling the marks of piquets may be seen 
suiTOunding the space of several acres. From the side of the 
hill springs a fountain of the clearest water, in quantity suffi- 
cient to turn a mill: this circumstance too is worthy of notice, 
as it is found invariably wherever these tumuli are seen on 
the eastern continent — in Britain, Scandinavia and Asia. 

Queenston Heights are a commanding military station, now 
defended by inlrenchments and batteries. In the early period 
of the late war, it was slightly fortihed. On the 13th Octo- 
ber, 1812, General Van Rensselaer, commanding the United 
States' forces on the Niagara frontier, formed an expedition 
against it. In the morning, a party of militia embarked in 
boats at Lewistown, and, in the face of a most deadly fire, 
notwithstanding the embarrassment caused by the eddies of 
the river, effected a landing. Colonel Van Rensselaer, to 
whom the command of the expedition, w.as assigned, received 



aXTEEXSTON HEIGHTS. 159 

several severe wounds, in a few minutes after he had g-ained 
the shore. He continued, nevei-theless, to encourage the 
troops, with the g-reatest intrepidity, and ordered them to 
stonn the fort, which the}'^ effected, in the most gallant man- 
ner, under Captains Ogihde and Wood. This small body 
drove the enemy before them ; and assisted by the batteries 
on the American side, completely silenced those of the ene- 
my. In the meantime, the British troops received a large 
reinforcement by the arrival of General Brock, the president 
of the province, and commander in chief of the forces, while 
Colonel Chrystie, having crossed over from the American shore 
with a body of militia, increased the force under Colonel Van 
Rensselaer to about three hundred and twenty men. With 
this the attack on the British lines was renewed at the point 
of the bayonet, the enemy were completely routed, and Brock, 
a gallant and distinguished soldier, fell, mortally wounded, in 
the attempt to rally them. In this situation, the victory was 
considered as gained by the American general, who crossed 
over for the purpose of fortifying his camp. The enemy, 
however, being reinforced by several hundred Indians, again 
advanced to the attack, and were once more repulsed. Gene- 
ral Van Rensselaer, now finding his own reinforcements em- 
barking but slowly, re-crossed for the purpose of accelerating 
their movements. To his utter surprise and mortification, 
however, he found that this part of the militia, who had here- 
tofore evinced so much eagerness to meet the enemy, now 
faltered, at the moment their services were required. Cover- 
ing their pusillanimity, or want of patriotism, with the pa- 
rade of legal knowledge, they refused to pass the American 
boundary, on the plea of constitutional privilege. Such a 
plea, at such a moment, when their countrymen were on the 
eve of being overpowered for want of assistance, and the cha- 
racter and cause of their common country were at stake, 
ought to consign to indelible contempt those who made use 
of it. 

All that could be done was to send ammunition to the 
troops, thus left unsupported on the British shore; they fought 
long and with persevering valour, and though disheartened 
by the dastardly conduct of their countrymen on the oppo- 
site side of the river, maintained their post with great bravery, 
until, overcome by numbers, they were compelled to retreat 
to the water's edge. Here, finding no means of conveyance. 



160 aVliEJiSTO>'— FORT GEORG£. 

and the eneiliy pushing" hard upon their rear, they were at 
last obliged to surrender. 

The villag-e of Queenston is in the southern part of the 
township of Niagara. It is the low^er landing' for the port- 
age round the falls. Amidst the surrounding desolations of 
war, this place was preserved from destruction, and is now in 
a flourishing state, having added to its former business a 
portion of what used to centre at Newark. The portage 
from Queenston to Chippewa, is ten miles; but the receiving 
and forwarding merchant, generally transports merchandise 
the whole distance up to Fort Erie, part of the way in wa- 
gons, and the rest in boats. Queenston and Lewistown are 
rivals in commerce. Both of them have good harbours. 
Indeed the whole river, for seven miles, down to its mouth, 
may be considered as one continued harbour. The shore is 
bold, requiring only a short wharfage for vessels to load and 
unload, and though the current is swift in the channel, an 
eddy near each shore aids vessels and boats passing up. This 
is the head of navigation, whence vessels sail to any port, on 
the lake, and down the St. Lawrence to Ogdensburg and 
Pre scot. 

Six miles below Queenston, on the shore, is Fort George^ 
a position of great importance. On this account it became 
an object with the Americans to obtain possession of it dm*- 
Ing the last war, and a combined attack was made upon it 
on the 27th May, 1813, by the land forces under General 
Dearborn, and the lake fleet commanded by Commodore 
Chauncey. The squadron anchored within musket-shot of 
the shore ; and a hea^^y fire commenced, by which the ene- 
my's batteries were silenced in ten minutes. The troops 
proceeded to the beach in three brigades, the advance being 
commanded by Colonel Scott, who landed under a heavy fire 
from the British forces. The first, second, and third bri- 
gades having reached the shore in their order, the enemy soon 
gave way, and retreated with precipitation to the fort ; this, 
however, having become untenable from the fire of the 
American batteries, the}^ abandoned, and, on the approach 
of the advance of General Boyd's brigade, dispersed in vari- 
ous directions. 

During the rest of the campaign, Fort George remained 
under the American flag, till in December it was finally 
abandoned. 



JSEWARK. 161 

At the entrance of Niagara river, into Lake Ontario, is the 
town of Newark, which was burnt, thit)ugh misapprehension 
or inadvertence, by the American General M'Clure, when 
evacuating Fort George ; an act which received the severest 
censure from the government and people of the United 
States, and was officially disavowed to the British govern- 
ment. It afforded them however a pretext for acts of cruel 
and ferocious retaliation, more unjustifiable than the original 
aggression. When destroyed, it contjuned two churches, a 
district school, and nearly one hundred dwelling houses, 
besides offices, stores and shops. Its situation is beautiful, 
fronting the river, handsomely elevated above the water, 
and commanding a noble prospect. The streets are laid out 
at right angles. It had been the seat of the provincial gov- 
ernment, and was the place of the courts of justice for Niaga- 
ra District. The court-house and jail had been demolished 
by hot-shot from the other shore, on the day of the battle ot 
Queenston. 



162 ROUTE TO atTEBEO. 

FALLS OF NIAGARA TO QUEBEC. 

M. M. 
Falls of Niagara to 

Whirlpool -- 4 

Lewistown 3 7 

Fort Niag-ara -- 7 14 

Entrance of Lake Ontario 

Genesee River --- 74 88 

Great Sodus Bay --.--... 35 123 

Osweg-o River --.-----. 28 151 

Stony Point 30 181 

Sackett's Harbour 12 193 

Entrance of St. Lawrence River - - - 20 213 

Cape Vincent 2 215 

I^ing-ston (U, C") opposite 

Alexandria - - - - 25 240 

Morristown - 23 263 

Og-densburg- 13 276 

Gallop Rapids -.-.....- 6 282 

Hamilton -.....-... 10 292 

Longue Sanlt Island - . 17 309 

Grass River -- 10 319 

St. Regis, boundary of the United States 5 324 
Grand Island and Rapids, end of Lake St. 

Francis 30 354 

Cedar Rapids 7 361 

Cascades, entrance of Lake St. Louis - 5 366 

La Chine, end of Lake St. Louis - - 16 382 

Montreal -.-.--.... 7 389 

St. Sulpice - - 20 409 

Three Rivers - ~ ~ . S5 464 

St. Maria 23 487 

Point au Tremble ------- 32 519 

Quebec - - 20 539 



KOUTE TO aUEBEC. 162 

DEVIATIONS. 

Falls of Niagara to KiNGSTOSf, by Yobk, U. C. 

M. M.. ' 
Falls of Niagara to 

Whirlpool ---.-. = .-- 4 

Queenston ------..-. 3 7 

Newark = ._,„. 7 14 

Cross Lake Ontario to 

York , . . 2S 49 

Port Hope - - - - 55 104 

Presqu' Isle, or Newcastle - - - . = 30 134 

South point of Prince Edward - - - 30 164 

False Duck Island ----- » - 25 189 

Ernest Town --. = --. - » 15 204 

KiNGSToif ..--...-.. 15 219 



Mosttbeal io Quebec, fbi/ iand.J 

Montreal to 

Port au Tremble - . 10 

Cross River des Prairies to 

St. Sulpice ..-..----- 17 27 

Cross St. John's River 

La Norag-e ..--13 40 

Cross La Chatoupe River 

Berthier - 10 50 

Cross Rivers Maskenong and Du Loup 

Three Rivers 46 96 

Cross Maurice River 

Champlain ---------- 15 111 

Cross Rivers Baliscan and St. Ann 

St. Marie - - 14 125 

Cape Saute ----..-.-. 23 148 

Cross River Port Neuf 

Cross River Jacques 

Point au Tremble ---.---. 12 160 

Quebec - - - 20 180 



164 lAKE OJTTAIIIO — YORK, 



Falls of Niagara to Quebec. 

Os- leaving Niagara for Montreal and Quebec, either of 
two routes by Lake Ontario may be taken. The English 
one, as it is called, is by crossing over to York, and then 
proceeding down the lake to the mouth of the St. Lawrence; 
whUe in the American hne, you reach the same point by 
coasting along the northern shore of New-York, and visiting 
in the route the different towns seated on the margin. 

Yorky one of the principal towns and the seat of govern- 
ment of Upper Canada, is situated near the bottom of a small 
bay, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, about thirty -five 
miles north of Newark. A long and narrow peninsula, distin- 
guished by the appellation of Gibraltar Pointy forms and em- 
braces this harbour, securing it from the storms of the lake, 
and rendering it safer than any other around the coasts of this 
sea of fresh water. 

At the western extremity of the peninsula, are the public 
stores and block-houses. On the highest ground, near the 
point, a light-house of about seventy feet elevation is erect- 
ed. On the main land, opposite the point, is the Garrison, 
where was also the lieutenant-governor's residence. Two 
miles eastwardly, near the head of the harbour, were two 
wings of the Parliament-House, the main edifice not being 
yet erected : they were built of brick, one story high. The 
Legislative Council sat in one of them, and the House of Re- 
presentatives in the other. Being burned by the Americans, 
their walls have been repaired, and converted into baiTacks. 

The town occupies the intervening space between that 
site and the Garrison. The harbour in front is w^ell secured, 
has safe anchorage, and is sufficiently capacious to contain a 
considerable fleet; but the shore is not bold, and no wharves 
are yet built, except one, which is an appendage of the new 
naval store-houses : vessels consequently lie off at anchor, 
and load and unload by boats. The entrance into the har- 
bour, also, is somewhat intricate ; but the light-house is de- 
signed to remedy this difficulty. The Don empties its waters 
into the head of the harboui-, east of the town; and two miles 
west of the Garrison is the mouth of the Humber, formerly 
named the Toronto, a name which was also applied to the 
bay. Both of these rivers afford convenient mili-seats, 



LAKE ONTAllIO PHESaU^ ISLE. 165" 

During' the war, York was twice visited by the Americans, 
and the military stores and other pubHc property seized and 
destroyed. 

From York, there is a mihtary road, called Yonge Street, 
extending in a direction nearly north thirty-two miles to Lake 
Simcoe, whence there is an easy passage into Gloucester Bay,- 
a good harbour on Lake Huron ; by this short road, salving 
a distance of live hundred miles in the ordinary route through 
Lakes Erie and St. Clair. 

Pursuing our passage along the Canada shore, the first 
port of any consequence is Presqu? Isle, or Newcastle, half- 
way from York to Kingston. It is protected from winds, and 
is almost encircled by a peninsula, which projects in a cm*ve 
into the lake. The basin of water thus embayed is of suffi- 
cient depth, and the shore is convenient for a landing place; 
but the entrance into the harbour, not being very direct and 
plain, requires considerable care. The navigation from 
Presqu' Isle eastward along the shore, is attended with some 
difficulty and danger, by reason of bays and points, and the 
winds to which the coast is peculiarly exposed. 

Nine miles after passing Presqu' Isle, the shore of the lake 
takes a south-easterly direction along the peninsula oi Prince 
Edward county. This peninsula is formed by the bay of 
Quinte, which extends from Maryborough, at the head of the 
St. Lawrence, westward, in a very irregular form. At the 
north-west angle of the bay, it receives, through the river 
Trent, after a circuitous route, the waters of Rice Lake, 
which lies forty miles to the west, and with which there is 
a communication from a chain of lakes in a north-westerly 
direction, towards Lake Simcoe. 

At the north-east point of the bay, between Fredericksburg 
and Richmond, the Appanee river falls in from the east. On 
this river, amidst a flourishing little village, in the rear of 
Fredericksbm-g, are valuable flour-mills, said to be the best 
in the province. 

Passing the southern promontory of Prince Edward, the 
shore of the lake strikes to the northward ; and just beyond 
the mouth of the bay of Quinte, two passages are formed 
by Amherst Island, which lies in the St. Lawrence: — the 
south, keeping outside of the island, directly to Kingston ; 
the other, through the sound between the island and north- 
ern shore. In this sound is the harbour of Ernest Town, m 



166 LAKE ONTARIO — rOHT NIAGARA. 

latitude 44° 10' north, and 75° 56' west from London. It h 
a broad open bay, of sufficient depth, a smooth bottom, and 
good anchoring g-round. The access to it is free from sand- 
bars and shoals. The bank of the shore is even and gravelly, 
and of such a descent, that a wharf of from fifty to one hun- 
dred feet is sufficient for vessels to lie alongside of it in safety. 
The harbour is sheltered by considerable projections of land 
on each side. The force of hea\y swells is also broken, and 
the violence of winds and storms weakened, by .Bmherst 
Island, once known as L* Isle de Tonti, which lies in front. 
From here, the passage to Kingston is easy and direct. 

Taking the passage along the southern or American shore 
of Lake Ontario, Fart Niagara^ on the point between the 
river and the lake, is the first object worthy of notice. It 
was built by the French in 1751, and taken from them by 
Sir William Johnston in 1759. At the close of the revolu- 
tionary war, it was possessed by the British ; and though, by 
the terms of the treaty which terminated that contest, it fell 
to the United States, it was not delivered into their posses- 
sion until 1795. In the late war, soon after General M'Clure's 
evacuation of Fort George, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray, with 
a body of British troops, crossed the river in the night, and 
at four o'clock in the morning of December 19th, 1813, sur- 
prised the garrison, and took the fort by storm. It remained 
in possession of the enemy through the remainder of the war, 
and was restored at its conclusion. Since that time a large 
stone wall has been ei'ected along the lake side, to prevent 
the encroachment of the water, and preserve some of the 
buildings, which, but for this precaution, would have fallen 
down the bank. 

The first place at which the steam-boat stops is Port Ge- 
nesee, at the mouth of that river, seventy-four miles from 
Fort Niagara. The shore is formed by the counties of Nia- 
gara, Genesee and Monroe 5 a fertile body of alluvial land, 
gradually sloping down to the water from the mountain ridge. 
It is true, that the climate along the lake is sensibly affi3cted 
by the exhalations which arise from it in summer ; but still 
it cannot be called unhealthy. It is not exactly such a coun- 
tiy as a settler should select, immediately on leaving a hilly, 
elevated ti'act, where tlie streams move rapidly, and the clouds 
are driven from bill to hill, or swept by the winds along the 



lAKE ONTARIO— PORT GENESEE. 167 

natural hollows of hill-bound valleys. But these remaiks 
apply equally to the neighbouring counties, long since thick- 
ly settled, and far from being sickly. The climate is mild 
and temperate, more so than the country about Albany, 
which is farther south and less elevated. Fruit trees put 
forth their blossoms sooner, and grain and grass are earlier 
in the spring by some days, often one or two weeks. 

Pm't Genesee is seven miles below Rochester 5 it is the 
shipping place of that town, and indeed of all the surround- 
ing countr}^, and contains from thirty to forty houses. Mr. 
Spafford states, that the exports from it amounted, in 1818, 
1819, 1820, and 1821, to between three hundred and seventy 
and three hundred and eighty thousand dollars. In 1820, 
they consisted of sixty-seven thousand four hundred and six- 
ty-eight barrels of flour, equal to three hundred and thirty- 
seven thousand three hundred and forty bushels of wheat ; 
five thousand three hundred and ten barrels of potashes ; 
two thousand six hundred and forty-three barrels of beef and 
pork ; seven hundred and nine barrels of whiskey; one hun- 
dred and seventy-five thousand staves 5 sundries, as butter, 
lard, corn, cider, lumber, cheese, hams, oil, fruit, &c. amount- 
ing to the value of ten thousand five hundred and twenty-four 
dollars. In 1822, the collector estimated the flour alone at 
one hundred thousand barrels, and that the value of that and 
all other articles of produce of the country, exported both 
down the canal and the St. Lawrence, say in nearly equal 
quantities, will probably amount to five hundred thousand 
dollars. 

Leaving Port Genesee, we coast along the south shore of 
the lake, passing the mouth of Irondequot Bay, Pulineyvilki 
a pretty little village, pleasantly seated on the water's edge, 
and carrying on a considerable trade, and reach in thirty -five 
miles Cfreat Sodus Bay. This bay forms a safe and commo- 
dious harbour, and has from six to eight feet of water on the 
bar at the entrance. It has three islands, of considerable size, 
under cultivation ; and the whole circumference of the bay, 
with its coves and points, is about fifteen miles. Its waters 
are deep and clear, abound with fish and fowl, and its shores 
have a great many fine sites for buildings, commanding ex- 
tensive and highly picturesque views. Fort Glasgoiv, at the 
head of navigation on the bay, has a pleasant situation and 
&. good harbour; and from this place to the village of Clyde, 



168 EAKE ONTARIO — OSWEGO. 

in Galen, on the Erie canal, there is a good road over a por- 
tage of ten miles and three quarters. A road is now opening- 
from Adam's mills, on the inlet of Port bay, to the canal at 
JBucksville, in Mentz. There are numerous roads, communi- 
cating' with the villages of Rochester, Canandaigaa, Geneva, 
Waterloo, Auburn, Oswego, Utica, &c. Iron ore and salt 
springs have both been discovered in the neighbourhood, 
and works have been erected for their manufacture, which 
will no doubt add to the prosperity of the place. 

The shores of Lake Ontario, both east and west of Sodus, 
are composed of vast banks of earth, twenty or thirty feet 
high, and everywhere yielding to the abrasion of the waters 
of the lake. One dense and continuous forest covers the 
shore, occasionally relieved by new farms. The country is 
extremely beautiful, picturesque and variegated, around the 
bay, and the soil is excellent. 

As we proceed along, the shore presents a number of in- 
lets, like Great Sodus bay, with narrow entrances and capa- 
cious basins, destined, in all probability, when the population 
increases, to become flourishing' ports. The mouth of C^we- 
go river is twenty-eight miles beyond Sodus ^ just within it 
is the port of Oswego, with the village of tine same name. 
Over the bar at the enti-ance are ten feet of water^ and it is 
considered as one of the best harbours on the lake. The 
lake vessels can only navigate half a mile above the village, to 
the Rift ; thence a boat navigation to the falls, twelve miles, 
where there is a portag'e of a mile. About one mile south- 
west from Oswego village, there is a button wood tree of 
enormous dimensions. It was measured, a year or two since, 
and found to be thirty-five feet six inches in circumference, 
two feet from the ground. This tree is hving, and appears 
to be growing fast, though hollow, with only a thin shell on 
the surface. It stands about fifty rods from a public highway, 
in a piece of woodland, and well merits notice. 

Beyond Oswego river, the shore of the lake bends to tlie 
southward, and then turning again north, forms a considerable 
bay. After passing this, there are several islands, opposite 
to which is the large inlet forming the bays of Chaumunt and 
Sacketfs Harbour, which are separated from each other by a 
small peninsula or promontory. The town of Sackett's Har- 
bour stands on the south-west side of the bay, in latitude 
north 43° 56\ and west longitude 76° from. London, or 1** 



LAKE ONTARIO— SACKETl's BAHBOUR — BIACK RIVER. 169 

east of Washington city. The bay and harbour are both 
well situated for shelter and defence. It is in some measure 
land-locked by two large and some smaller islands, standing" 
in the mouth of the bay, eight miles distant to the west from 
the village. Chaumont bay is an embranchment of the same 
sheet of w*ater which forms the harbour below the mouth of 
Black river : it does not however contain as good anchorage^ 
nor does the position of its shores render it so favourable a 
site, either as a naval, military or commercial depot, as the 
bay now known as Sackett's Harbour. The latter is perhaps 
one of the best situations in the world for ship-building. A 
low and narrow crescent of land extends from the lower ex- 
tremity of the village, and forms an inner and outer harbour. 
The latter, within two fathoms of the shore, has a depth of 
water sufficient to float the largest ship of the line that can 
be formed : the vessels can be framed on nearly a level with 
the water, and launched with the greatest ease. The depth 
of water continues to the mouth of Black River , near which 
another very excellent position presents itself for the con- 
struction of ships either of war or commerce. In each of 
those places of ship architecture, now lies the hull of a first- 
rate man-of-war. One of them, covered by a good building', 
is said to be the largest ship of war that ever was built; and 
what is even more astonishing, she was advanced to her pre- 
sent state of forwardness in thirty days, in the depth of win- 
ter. Several otlier vessels of war are here laid up. The 
Madison barracks, situated about four hundred yards north- 
eastwardly from the borough, on the bay shore, were erected 
in 1816-17, are of blue schistose limestone, and enclose three 
sides of a parallelogram of about three acres, the side towards 
the bay being open. They are a solid range of buildings, 
and add not a little to the appearance of the place. 

During the war, Sackett's Harbour was once the scene of 
military events. While the works around the harbour were 
yet in an imperfect state, it was attacked by Sir George Pre- 
vost, who, seizing the favourable opportunity of the absence 
of General Dearborn with his army, and Commodore Chaun- 
cey with his fleet, on their expedition to Niagara, embarked 
his troops, and sailed from Kingston, on the 27th May, 1813, 
the very day of the capture of Fort George. By adverse 
winds and other circumstances, the attack was delayed until 
the morning of the 29th, when, under cover of the ships and 
P 



170 lAKE OlfTARIO— V1NCENT*S POINT. 

gun-boats, about a thousand men landed on a peninsula call' 
ed Horse Island, a mile to the west of the harbour. After a 
contest of some duration, General Brown, with a very small 
body of regulars, and some militia collected in great haste 
from the surrounding country, succeeded in repulsing the 
enemy, who were compelled to retire so rapidly as to leave 
most of tJieir wounded and some prisoners behind. 

On leaving Sackett's Harbour, the adjacent shores of the 
main and those of the islands are low, and composed of flcctz 
limestone, admixed with animal exuviae. The border of the 
lake is uniformly low, not being elevated above the water 
more than three or four feet. The debris thrown up by the 
action of the lake consists of rounded pebbles of limestone, 
with a very few fragments 'of some other kinds of stone. I'he 
timber is the sugar-maple, pine, linden, elm, oak of several 
species, though it is not very abundant, birch and beech: the 
soil is extremely fertile. When at some distance from the 
shore, the high hills near the source of Black river, and be- 
tween Utica and Oswego, are seen far inland. 

This uniformity continues, with little interruption, all the 
way to Vincent's Pointy the entrance of the St. Lawrence, 
twenty-two miles from Sackett's Harbour. Directly opposite 
this point is Kingston^ though the river, here twelve miles 
wide, is divided into two channels by a large island, called 
Grand or Long Isle. 

Having now made the circuit of Lake Ontario, it may be 
proper, before leaving it, to mention a few general circum- 
stances relative to it. The form of Lake Ontario is elliptical, 
and a central line from one extremity to the other measures 
about one hundred and ninety miles, its greatest width is 
fifty-five miles, and its medium may be about foily miles. 
The St. Lawrence issues from tlie north-east end of this lake, 
which receives the Niagara river towards its western extre- 
mity ; and from the entrance of this river to the eastern 
termination of the lake, its centre forms the boundary be- 
tween the United States and Canada ; nearly half, therefore, 
of Lake Ontario, is within the state of New-York. It is a 
very, deep lake, with sufficient water in every part, and it 
has very good harbours ; it is never entirely closed with ice, 
and is computed from some soundings to be five hundred 
feet deep. The level of Lake Ontario is three hundred and 



tAKE ONTAKIO — KINGSTON. 171 

thirty-four feet below that of Lake Erie, twenty-one miles 
distant in the nearest place, and two hundred and thirty-one 
feet above the tide water of the Hudson at Albany. 

The appearance of the shores exhibits great diversity: to- 
wards the north-east part they are low, with ma)iy marsh}' 
places ; to the north and north-west they assume a lofty, cha- 
racter, but subside again to a very moderate height on the 
south. Along the borders of the lake, the country is every- 
where covered with wood, through whose numerous open- 
ings frequent patches of settlements are seen, which give it 
a pleasing effect, greatly heightened by the white cliffs of 
Toronto, 'and the remarkable high -land over Presqu* Isle, 
called the Devil's Nose, on the north. The view on the south 
is well relieved, with a back ground produced by the ridge 
of hills, that, after forming the precipice over which the ca- 
taract of Niagara pours, stretches away to the eastward : the 
object which closes the prospect in this direction is a conical 
eminence, towering above the chain of heights, called Fifty= 
mile Hill, as denoting its distance from the town of Niagara^ 

A great variety of fish is found in abundance in the lake i 
sturgeon, tro.ut, salmon, dace, carp, pike. Sec. The height 
of the water in tlie river and lakes varies according to the 
season, being sensibly though not immediately affected, by 
the quantity of rain and snow, faUing on the regions whence 
the tributary streams flow into the lakes. ^ In ordinary years, 
the water continues to rise in Lake Ontario until about the 
20th of June. 

Kingston is the British naval depot on lake Ontario, and 
IS a very pretty and flourishing town. Next to Quebec and 
Halifax, it is the strongest fortified post in British America ,- 
in commercial business, it is the third town in the Canadas, 
being inferior only to Montreal and Quebec. It is situated 
in latitude 44° 12' north, and longitude fS® 41' west from 
London. It occupies the seat of old Fort Froniehac, the 
ruins of which are still to be seen, as are also the remains 
of a breastwork thrown up by the English under Colonel 
Bradstreet. The harbour is on the east side, and is formed 
by a bay, stretching northwardly in front of the town, and 
meeting the waters of a river, on which, a few miles above, 
the Kingston mills are erected. The western shore of the 
bay is bold, and suitable for wharves, of which there are 



172 ST. LAWRENCE — GANANOaUI. 

already as many as ten or twelve, where vessels of any burden 
n^y lie in safety, and load and unload with convenience and 
ease. Eastward of the bay, the land projects southwardly 
a considerable distance to a point called Point Frederick, or 
Navy Point, beyond which is Haldemand Cove, a deep basin 
of water, sheltered by this point on the west, and Point Hfenry 
on the east, and guarded against south winds by Wolfe Island 
in front. In this cove the king's shipping lies, and on its 
western margin are the royal dock-yard, wharf; stores, he. ; 
the entrance into the cove is safe. The town harbour has 
shoals, but vessels entering or departing may steer either to 
the right or left, and avoid them. The principal fortress is 
at Point Henry, which commands both the town and harbour. 
Snake Island, situated near the outlet into the open lake, is 
fortified, and made a telegraphic station, to communicate 
with a telegraph at Fort Henry. 

The first place on the Canada shore, of any note, after 
leaving Kingston, is Gananoqui, eighteen miles below, at the 
mouth of the river of the same name. It is supplied from a 
lake also of that name, and another small one further north, 
and discharges its waters into the St. Lawrence, in Leeds, the 
second township below Kingston. At its mouth there is an 
excellent harbour, the channel being from twelve to fifteen 
feet deep, and the current very slow. Above the rapids, it 
is navigable by boats. Its waters accommodate some valu- 
able mills, and a furnace for the manufacture of iron. At an 
early period of the war between the United States and Great 
Britain, Gananoqui was visited by a party of volunteers from 
the southern shore, under the orders of Captain Forsyth, 
who routed the guard, took a number of prisoners and arms, 
and burnt the barracks and public stores. 

The whole bed of the St. Lawrence, for fifty miles, is now 
studded with islands, which are covered with the most luxu- 
riant foHage, wherever their rocky smface aflbrds any place 
for trees to fix themselves. These, from being exceedingly 
numerous, have been called "the Thousand Islands;" but 
their exact number was not known, until the commissioners 
for determining the boundary between the United States and 
Canada, ascertained that there were sixteen hundred and 
ninety-two, reckoning as an island every rock on which there 
was a tree. The scenery of the river is here exceedingly 
impressive. A savage wildness prevails along its shores, ex- 



ST. LAWRENCE — ALEXANDRIA — ^MORRISTOWN. 1/ ' 

oept here and there a speck of cultivation, where the settler's 
Imt is seen, or a httle village breaks upon the view. Some- 
times you meet a solitary Indian, gracefully standing in the 
bow, and winding his canoe around the islands, or engaged 
in fishing. The black cedars, which hne the shores or crown 
the rocky islands, thickly scattered over the immense surface 
of the river, add by their savage monotony to the rudeness of 
the scene. The islands appear so close together, that fre- 
quently, till you approach quite near, no opening can be per- 
ceived; when suddenly you pass close between, or skirt round 
by a short tack, into an open expanse. The basis of these 
islands is granite. A chain of primitive mountains leaves the 
elevated country south-west of Lake George, and proceed- 
ing to the north-west througli the state of New-York, crosses 
the St. Lawrence between Kingston and Brockville. The 
passage of the St. Lawrence over this chain, forms the Thou- 
sand Islands. Every part of this stream presents phenomena 
to demonstrate that this ridge was once unbroken, and that 
in it, at some point, existed a cataract, above which the wa- 
ters of Lake Ontario were elevated much higher than their 
present level. The disruption or gradual wear of this mass 
of rocks released the imprisoned flood, inundated the coun- 
try below, and then perhaps was formed the cataract of Ni- 
agara. 

Twenty-five miles below Kingston is Alexandria, a village 
on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence, at the mouth of 
Otter Creek. There is a direct road from this place to Utica, 
through Martinsburgh, Trenton, &c. ; and the distance to 
Montreal by this route is forty-five miles nearer than by that 
of Sackett's Harbour. 

Twenty-three miles below Alexandria is the village of 
Morristowriy and opposite to it, on the Canada shore, that of 
Brockville, where the Thousand Islands terminate. The for- 
mer is situated on the north side of Mill creek, a small stream, 
with a large mouth, that here enters the St. Lawrence, mak- 
ing a smaU harbour for canoes. It is the place where General 
Wilkinson embarked his army, in the autumn of 1813. On 
the opposite side of the river, which is here about one mile 
and a quarter wide, but a little above it, is Brockville. 

The scenery, which, during the whole passage down the 
St. Lawrence, is remarkably fine, is here worthy of particular 
notice. The land rises by a gentle and almost imperceptible 

p2 



174 ST. LAWRENCE — BROCKVILLE. 

acclivity from the water, and presents a landscape of surpass- 
ing beauty. The noble river, roUing in its bed the collected 
waters of mighty lakes, the tributes of a thousand streams ; 
now roaring amid rocks and rocky islands, which rise from 
his bosom crowned with tufted forests, or presenting nothing 
but dark and craggy rocks to the passing wave; now gliding 
along with silent majesty, and bearing promiscuously the 
slender bark of the Indian, and the steam-boat, the master- 
piece of civihzed art ; while its shores form a country that 
ere long shall teem with all the luxuriance of agriculture, and 
where we now see peeping from among primeval forests 
many a cheerful settlement, and towns destined to be the 
seats of extensive trade. Those who have never beheld the 
St. Lawrence can form but a faint idea of this Missouri of 
the North : it presents a feature in the country, at once beau- 
tiful and grand. We may here apply the lines which were 
written by a poet, while sailing on its waters:— 

See ! in his bark, the painted Indian ghde, 
Down the white rapids of the lordly tide. 
Through massy woods, through islets flowering fair. 
Through shades of bloom, where the first suiful pair 
For consolation might have weeping trod. 
When banished from the garden of their God. 

But see ! the tinges of the west decline, 
Atid night sinks dewy on these banks of pine : 
Among the reeds, in which our idle boat 
Is rock'd to rest, the wind's complaining note, 
Dies, like a half-breathed whispering of flutes — 
See ! on the wave the gleaming porpoise shoots. 
Amid the rippling current's silvery light. 
Where wave and rapids sparkle through the night; 
Here, as along the shadowy bank we stray. 
And the smooth glass-snake, ghding o'er our way. 
Shows the dim moonlight through his scaly form. 
Fancy, with all the scene's enchantment warm. 
Hears, in the murmurs of the nightly breeze. 
The song of spirits, warbled through the trees. ' 

The town ofJBrockville is a new settlement, pleasantly situ- 
ated, with a custom-house and some well built houses. Be- 
tween it and Prescot, thirteen miles below, commences a 
secondary region, consisting in a great part of schistose sand- 



ST. LAWHENCE — PKESCOT — OGDESrSBURG. 1/5 

stone, upon which often rests an alluvial deposit. Immediate- 
ly below Brockville, the Canadian shore is formed by a high 
and perpendicular ledge of the latter formation. Below this 
place, the river is without islands for fifteen or sixteen miles, 
and extends to the width of a mile and a half, with shores ris- 
ing by a gentle acclivity from the water, and, where cultivat- 
ed, inexpressibly beautiful. The soil is exuberantly rich, and 
covered with a growth of timber, indicative of extraordinary 
fertility, such as white birch, red maple, sugar tree, elm, lin- 
den, hemlock, and white pine. 

Prescot is a settlement began before the late war, at a 
point well situated for a commercial establishment, and al- 
though yet in its infancy, considerable aiTangements have 
been formed for estabhshing and supporting it, as a stand for 
forwarding the business of the Canadian side of the lake and 
river. In the progress of the war, Prescot was fortified. 
The fortification has received the name of Fort Wellington. 
It has a garrison of regular troops, and is an important mili- 
tary post, commanding the river and the opposite town of 
Ogdensbiu-g. 

Ogdensburgf on the American shore, is a much more popu- 
lous and flom'ishing place. It is the capital of St. Lawrence 
county, and situated on a beautiful plain, inmiediately north 
of the mouth of the Oswegutchie River. It is regularly laid 
out, and contains about one hundred houses and stores, the 
county buildings, and is a pleasant place, of considerable bu- 
siness. There are several vessels owned here, employed in 
the trade of Lake Ontario ; for Ogdensburg has a good har- 
bour, and claims to be at the foot of the lake navigation, as 
there is but very httle ciurent to this spot, and a sufficient 
depth of water for the usual lake craft. One of its store- 
houses is of stone, three stories, one hundred and twenty by 
sixty feet. It is a port of entry and delivery, has a coUector 
of the customs, and a printing-office. 

During the late war, soon after the commencement of hos- 
tilities, it was slightly fortified, and became a station for a 
small military force. In the autumn of the first year of the 
war. Colonel Lethbridge, who commanded at Prescot, at- 
tempted to take it. His troops, in about twenty boats, sup- 
ported by two gun-boats, moved up the river three quarters 
of a mile, then tacked and stood over towards Ogdensburg. 



ITS ST. LAWRENCE — GALLOP BAPIDS. 

As soon as they changed then* course, the batteries at Pres- 
cot commenced firing- across, to cover their landing. When 
they reached the middle of the river. General Brown, who 
had hitherto reserved his fire, opened his battery upon them 
with very considerable effect. Two or three of the boats 
were shattered, and tliey all returned to Prescot, This was 
the first step of that military career in which success so uni- 
formly attended General Brown through the war. 

In the following winter, Lieutenant-Colonel M'Donnell, 
having then the command at Prescot, planned and executed 
another attack. For several days he had exercised his troops 
on the ice, near the shore, and again paraded them there, ap- 
parently for the same purpose, but prepared for an assault. 
His progress towards Ogdensburg was not noticed there, 
until he was marching on a quick step and pushing for the 
shore. Captain Forsyth then rallied his men, formed them 
in haste, and attempted a defence ; but being unprepared 
and inferior in strength, he was driven from his position and 
forced to retreat. Colonel M'Donnell took possession of the 
village, and brought over to Prescot the cannon and stores 
found in it. Ogdensburg was not again occupied as a mili- 
tary station during the war. 

Th^ steam-boats do not proceed any further down the St. 
Lawrence, as the navigation is interrupted at intervals by the 
rapids, and the voj'age must be made in batteaux pr flat-bot- 
tomed boats. 

The rapids commence about six miles below Ogdensburg, 
with what are called the Gallop Rapids. The bottom of the 
channel of the St. Lawrence makes in many places a consider- 
able slope, down which the whole body of water rushes with 
surprising velocity. There is generally only a very small 
part of the channel where boats can pass ; and they must be 
piloted with much skill and coolness, especially as in the 
worst part, called "the Lost Channel," if the true course were 
once missed, they would be dashed to pieces in an instant. 
The water, which is very much agitated in every part of the 
rapids, assumes in the Lost Channel the appearance of the 
most terrible surf. The rapids are of different lengths. The 
longest, called the Long Sault, continues for nine miles. 
It is curious to see with what velocity the trees on the banks 
appear to run past you, as you descend the rapids j indeed 



ST. LAWJIENCE LONS SAULT— WILLIAMSBURG. 177 

the whole voyage afFords a great deal of amusement, though 
when going down some of the most difficult passes, astonisli- 
ment and fear usurp the place of all other feelings. 

Sixteen miles below Ogdensburg, on the southern shore, 
is the village of Waddington, containing nearly one hundred 
houses, an academy, a number of mills, and some elegant 
seats belonging to the proprietors of the town. 

The mills are owned by these proprietors, and stand on a 
branch of the St. Lawrence, separated from the main stream 
by Ogden Island. The dam extends to the island, and cost 
more than three thousand dollars. A bridge is also thrown 
across this channel, here about two hundred yards broad. 
Immediately opposite this village, is the rapid called Le Petit 
Saultt which materially injures the navigation of the St. 
Lawrence. 

The rapid called the Long Sault, is a little farther down 
the river, with the Long Sault islands. The noise, the con- 
tinual motion, and magnitude of its contending waves, render 
the Long Sault at once the object of terror and delight. 
They burst upon each other, and tossing aloft their broken 
spray, cover the stream with a white and troubled surface, as 
far as the eye can extend. From a point of land, on the north 
shore, formed by the sinuosities of the stream, much gran- 
deur is displayed. The baiik is here about fifty feet high, 
and commands a view of the principal branch of the river, 
for a distance of two or three miles 5 in which the effulgence 
of the impetuous current is beautifully contrasted with the 
bordering shades of the woods. Towards the south shore, 
which is separated by islands from the branch now described, 
the stream is much less broken, and its depth precludes the 
use of poles. The length of the Long Saidt is estimated at 
nine miles ; and a boat usually descends it in about twenty 
minutes, which is at the rate of twenty -seven miles an hour. 

Seven miles below Waddington, on the northern bank of 
the St. Lawrence, is Williamsburg^ beautifully situated, but 
consisting of little more than a few poor wooden buildings. 
Some celebrity however is attached to it, from the battle of 
Chrystler's farm, which was fought in the neighbourhood on 
the 11th November, 1813. The American army, under Gene- 
ral Wilkinson, were proceeding down the St, Lawrence to at- 
tack Montreal : the commander in chief, with the greater 
proportion of the troops, were in the boats, but a consider* 



17S ST. LAWRENCE COUKWALt. 

able force, the advance of which was under the command of 
General Brown, and the rear g"uard under that of General 
Boyd, marched along* the Canada shore. Colonel Morrison, 
with a body of British troops, pursued and harassed the 
Americans on their mai'ch, in consequence of which General 
Boyd formed his forces, and moved ag-ainst the enemy ; he 
commenced the action by a charg-e upon a pafty of them, 
posted in a wood, who, after a short skirmish, were driven 
back on the main body. This was advantageously drawn 
up, behind the deep ravines which intersected the plain. 
General Covington advanced, upon the rig-ht of the enemy, 
with his brigade, while Colonel Ripley assailed his left flank, 
with the twenty -first regiment, after having driven back, with 
the bayonet, a superior number opposed to him. The contest 
now became general throughout the line ; but the unfortu- 
nate fall of General Covington, who was killed while gallant- 
ly leading his brigade to the charge, and the want of ammu- 
nition, forced the American army to retire. After a contest 
of two hours, with alternate success on either side, the whole 
of the Americans engaged retired and re-occupied the ground 
from which the enemy had been originally driven, while the 
latter drew off to his camp. Soon afterwards, the American 
infantry were embarked on board the flotilla, while the dra- 
goons and light artillery proceeded by land. to the foot of the 
rapid. The British, with as little justice as in several other 
events of the war, claimed this victory; though from their 
own statements, they gained nothing by the event. The 
object of the American general was to eifect his passage 
down the St. Lawrence, that of the British to retard or defeat 
it ; in neither did he succeed : the passage was prosecuted 
by the Americans, and so far from their further descent be- 
ing retarded or prevented, neither the column on shore, nor 
the troops in the boats, were again assailed. 

In twenty miles farther we pass the mouth of Ch'oss Rivery 
opposite to which, in Canada, is Cornwall, a flourishing town, 
watered by a rivulet running througli it, and situated on a 
commodious bay of the river below the Long Sault. It is the 
seat of the courts for the eastern district, has a very respect- 
able literary institution, a church and rectory, and consider- 
able trade. 

Five miles below is Si. Regis, the point where the north- 
em boundary line of the Unrted States strikes the St. Law- 



ST. LAWRENCE — CEDARS — CASCADES. 179 

rence ; beyond this point, therefore, both sides of the river 
belong- to Canada. Passing- this, we soon enter a wide expan- 
sion of the river, known by the name of Lake St. Francis^, 
descend the Rapids called the Cedars and Cascades, and reach 
the entrance of Lake St. Louis, foily -seven miles from St. 
Reg'is. 

The rajDids of the Cedars are formed by a cluster of isl- 
ands, in the midst of the river ^ for almost one and a half 
miles above, it has assumed a sudden declivity and winding 
course. An awfui and solemn effect is produced by the in- 
cessant sound, and rapid motion of the ever-swelling- waves, 
which, covered with eifulgent whiteness, drive along with ir- 
resistible fury. In descending, the batteaux are steered near 
the western shore, to avoid the tremendous and broken swell, 
which in some places is interspersed with rocks. Although 
this coarse is not unaccompanied by danger, the Canadians 
are in general so experienced and skilful, that an accident 
almost never occurs. 

About three miles below are the Cascades ,- they are about 
two miles in length, and flow among three different islands. 
The rapidity and force of the stream, arising from the great 
declivity of its bed, and the number of rocks and cavities 
which it contains, causes it to break.into masses of white foam, 
moving in a direction the reverse of that of waves produced 
in a troubled ocean, by the agency of storms. They curl their 
resplendent tops towards the quarter fi-om whence they are 
impelled. The mind of a .stranger is filled with admiration, on 
beholding, in the calmest and finest weather, all the noise, 
effect and ag'itation, which the most violent conflict between 
the winds and waters is capable of exhibiting. 

The boundary line between Upper and Lower Canada 
strikes the St. Lawrence about the middle of Lake St. Fran- 
cis, neai' Pomt-au-Bodei. From this place it. is formed by ait 
imaginary line, taking a northerly course till it reaches the 
great river Ottawa, which then becomes the division as far 
as its source. 

Immediately at the foot of the Cascades, the last series of 
the rapids, opens Lake St. Louis, which is formed by an ex- 
pansion of the St. Lawrence at the mouth of the Ottawa river. 
This large stream rises in the country of the Timmiskamaings, 
on the same high land on which the Abbitibbee and other 
waters that flow into Hudson's bay have their source ; it is 



180 ST. LAWREKCE — lA CHINE. 

the great channel by which the skins from the north-west 
are conveyed, and though the navigation is in many places 
interrupted by rapids, the hunters contrive to transport their 
canoes around them. Just above its junction with the St. 
Lawrence, it spreads into what is termed the Lake of the 
Two Mountains ,- at the lower part of this lake, or rather be* 
tween it and the Lake of St. Louis, spread three islands, 
Jesus, Perrot and Montreal. 

At La Chine, a little village on the island of Montreal, the 
passage by water ends, and the traveller is conveyed in a 
caleche or stage to the city. This village is the place whence 
all the merchandise and stores for Upper Canada are em- 
barked in batteaux, to proceed up the St. Lawrence. Dur- 
ing the summer season, they are constantly passing be- 
tween this place and Kingston in Upper Canada. The set- 
tlement of La Chine received its name from a plan which 
had been projected, of penetrating through the continent of 
North America to China, the persons engaged in the enter- 
prise having embarked at this spot. 

From La Chine also the canoes employed by the North- 
West Company in the fur trade, take their departure. Of all 
the numerous contrivances for transporting heavy burdens 
by water, these vessels are perhaps the most extraordinary; 
scarcely anything can be conceived, so inadequate, from the 
slightness of their construction, to the purpose to which 
they are apphed, and to contend against the impetuous tor- 
rent of the many rapids that must be passed in the course of 
the voyage. They seldom exceed thirty feet in length, and 
six in breadth, diminishing to a sharp point at each end, 
without distinction of head or stern : the frame is. composed 
of small pieces of some verj^ lig-ht wood ; it is then covered 
with the bark of the birch tree, cut into convenient slips, 
that are rarely more than the eightli of an inch in thickness ; 
these are sewed together with threads made from the twisted 
fibres of the roots of a particular tree, and strengthened when 
necessary by narrow strips of the same materials applied on 
the inside ; the joints in this fmgile planking are made water- 
tight by being covered with a species of gum, that adheres 
very firmly, and becomes perfectly hard. No iron work of 
any description, not even nails, enter into the construction 
of these slender vessels, which, when complete, weigh only 
about five hundred weight each. On being prepared for the 



ST. LAWRENCE FUIl TRADE— VOYAGEURS. 181 

voyag'e, they receive their lading-, which, for the convenience 
of carrying- across the portages, is made up in packages of 
about three quarters of a hundred weight each, and amounts 
altogether to live tons, or a little more, including provisions 
and other necessaries for the men, of whom eight or ten are 
employed to each canoe. 

They proceed up tlie Grand or Ottawa river, as far as the 
south-west branch, by which, and a chain of small lakes, they 
reach Lake Nipissivg; through it, and down the French 
River into Lake Huron ; along its northern coast, up the 
narrows of St. Mary, into Lake Superior, and then by its 
northern side to the Grand Portage — a distance of about 
eleven hundred miles from the place of departure. The 
difficulties encountered in this voyage are not easily con- 
ceived i the great number of rapids in the rivers, the dlfter- 
ent portages from lake to lake, which vary from a few yards 
to three or four miles in length, where the canoes must be 
unladen, and with their contents carried to the next water, 
occasion a succession of exertions and fatigues, of which but 
little idea can be formed, by judging it from the ordinary 
occupations of other labouring classes. 

The men employed in this arduous service are called voy- 
ageurs ; they are robust, hardy and resolute, capable of en- 
during great extremes of fatigue and privation for a long time, 
with a patience almost inexhaustible. In the large lakes, 
they are frequently daring enough to cross the deep bays, 
often a distance of several leagues, in their canoes, to avoid 
lengthening the route by coastmg them. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing all the risks and hardships attending their employment, 
they prefer it to every other, and are very seldom induced 
to rehnquish it in favour of a more settled occupation. The 
few dollars they receive as the compensation for so many 
privations and dangers, are generally dissipated with a most 
careless indifference to their future wants ; and when at an 
end, they contentedly renew the same series of toils to obtain 
a fresh supply. 

The ride from La Chine to Montreal is one of the most 
beautiful that can be imagined ; the country on either hand 
presents all the embellishment of a numerous population, 
leitile soil, and good cultivation. About hve miles from the 
city, the road passes along a ridge for more than tiiree miles, 
commanding a beautiful view (.ver the fields and meadows 



182 MONTIIEAL. 

beneath, with the St. Lawrence, studded with islands, wan- 
derin,^ among- them. " It is a pleasant relief to the eye, tired 
with the contemplation of dreary forests and wide wateiy 
wastes, when the fair seigniory of Montreal suddenly opens 
before you. Rich and undulating- lands, sprinkled with villas, 
and bounded on one hand by wooded heights, and on the 
other by the gray city, its tin roofs and spires blazing in the 
setting sun ; the vast river, chafed by hidden rocks into 
sounding and foaming rapids, and anon spreading his waters 
into a broad sheet of molten gold, speckled with islands, 
batteaux, and shipping 5 the distant shore, with its dark line 
of forest, and far off, two solitary mountains, raising their 
blue heads in the vermil glories of the horizon, like sapphires 
chased in rubies. Along the road, French faces, with all tlie 
harshness of feature and good humour of expression peculiar 
to the national physiognomy, look and gossip from door and 
window, orcliard and meadow; a passing salutation easily 
winning a smile and courteous obeisance."* 

The island of Montreal forais the seigniory of the same 
name, and also the county of Montreal. The gi-eatest part 
of it was granted, in 1640, to Messrs. Chen-ier and Le Royer; 
but whether disposed of by them, or forfeited to the crown, 
does not appear from any official record that has been pre- 
served : it is at present wholly the property of the seminary 
of St. Sulpice at Montreal. 

The island is divided into the following nine parishes: — 
St. Ann, St. Genevieve, Point Claire, La Chine, Sault au Re- 
collet, St. Laurent, Riviere des Prairies, Point au Tremble, 
and Longue Point. The soil of the whole, if a few insignifi- 
cant tracts be overlooked, is scarcely excelled in any coun- 
try, and is highly productive in grain of every species, vege- 
tables and fruits of various kinds ; consequently there is 
hardly any part of it that is not in the most flourishing state 
of cultivation, and it may justly claim the pre-eminence over 
any part of Lower Canada. 

The city of Montreal, in latitude 45° 00' north, longitude 
73° o7' west from London, is placed on the south side of the 
island, whose banks are here from ten to fifteen feet high 
from the level of the water. It is built in the form of a pa- 
rallelogram, extending from north to south. A deep and 

* Views of Society in America, p. 275. 



MOXTREAt PTTBHC BtTIIBIKSS. 183 

rapid current flows between the shore and the island of St, 
Helen; a strong- north-east wind is therefore necessary to 
carry vessels up to the town; and when that is wantnia^, they 
remain at anchor at the lower end of the stream. This in- 
convenience mig'ht have been obviated, had the city been 
built about a mile below its present site, at a place called 
the Cross. 

The population of Montreal is about twenty-five thousand. 
It is divided into the Upper and Lower Towns ; one, how- 
ever, is but little elevated above the other. The streets are 
for the most part laid out in a regular manner, generally 
rather narrow, but the new ones are of convenient width. 
The houses are mostly built of gTayish stone, and the roofs 
are covered with sheet iron or tin ; many of them are large, 
handsome, and in a modern style, seldom however exceed- 
ing two stories in height. 

In the lower town is the Hotel Dleu, founded by Madame 
de Bouillon, in 1644. It has a superior and thirty nuns, whose 
principal occupation consists in administering relief to the 
sick, who are received into that hospital. A large room in 
the upper part of the building, is appropriated as a ward for 
female, and one immediately under it for male patients. As 
the institution was intended for public benefit, the medicines 
were, during the French government, supplied at the ex- 
pense of the crown. The fund by which it was supported, 
being vested in Paris, was lost in consequence of the revolu- 
tion. Its present slender resources are chiefly derived from 
some property in land. 

The General Hospital stands on the banks of the river, 
arid is separated from the town by a small rivulet. It owes 
its establishment, which was in 1753, to a widow lady named 
Youville. It contains a superior, and nineteen nuns. 

The upper town contains the cathedi'al, the English church, 
the convent of Recollets, that of the sisters of Notre Dame, 
the seminar}^, the government-house, and the courts of law. 

The Cathedral church is a very spacious building, contain- 
ing five altars, all of which are very richly decorated. A tnost 
all the christenings, marriages and burials of the Ho.rian 
Catholic inhabitants, are performed in this church, on which 
occasions, as well as before and during the masses, they 
ring the bells, which are five in number, to the annoyance of 
those who are not fond of discordant sounds. The funerals 



1S4 MONTREAI— ST. XAWSEXCE. 

are conducted with great ceremony, the corpse being; always 
attended to the church by a number of priests chanting' 
prayers, and by little boys in white robes and black caps, 
carrying vvax-lig-hts. 

The Barracks are agreeably situated near the river, at the 
lower end of the town ; they are surrounded by a lofty Wall, 
and calculated to contain about three hundred men. The 
walls around the town are generally mouldering-, and some 
of them are in ruins, although the gates are quite perfect. 
The walls were erected as a defence against the Indians; and 
they have been found useful^ even so late as the year 1736. 
They also served a good purpose, on occasion of the large 
fairs held in Montreal, to which the Indians from all parts 
resorted with their furs ; because the inhabitants were thus 
enabled to shut them out at night, when danger might have 
attended their remaining, in a state of intoxication, to which 
they are much addicted. Notwithstanding this defence, 
however, Montreal has been always an easy conquest to re- 
gular troops. The greater number of the inhabitants con- 
sists of persons of French extraction, though the eminent 
merchants and the principal people of the town, are gene- 
rally Enghsh, Scotch, Irish, or their descendants, all of whom 
indiscriminately pass for English with the French inhabitants. 
The French retain, in a great measure, the manners and cus- 
toms, as well as the language of their ancestors, and present 
a strange contrast to the inhabitants of tlie United States, and 
even of Upper Canada. Indeed, the degree to which they 
have preserved the language and manners of France is truly 
surprising on this continent, where every thing so rapidly 
changes and improves. 

From Montreal to Quebec, down the St. Lawrence, the 
distance is one hundred and eighty miles. The navigation 
assumes a bolder character than it had above; it is conducted 
in decked vessels of all sizes; and the impediments in ascend- 
ing or descending are such as may be overcome with much 
ease, if it be judged expedient that their cargoes should be 
so conveyed, in preference to transporting them in small 
craft. On either side of the river, the prospect is worthy of 
admiration. The different seigniories, all in the hig-hest state 
of improvement that the agriculture of the country will ad- 
mit, denote both affluence and industry. The views are 
always pleasing, and often beautiful, although the component 



ST. LAWREKCE — POUT AU TREMBLE — SOHEL. 185 

parts of them do not possess that degree of gi'andeur which 
is perceivable below Quebec. Numerous villages, built 
around a handsome stone church, constantly invite the tra- 
veller's attention; while single houses and farms, at short 
distances, appear to keep up a regular chain of communi- 
cation. In fact, whoever passes from one city to the other, 
whether by water or by land, cannot fail to be highly grati- 
fied, and to meet with many objects worthy both of observa- 
tion and reflection. 

If the traveller should not be inclined to pursue his journey 
farther along the St. Lawrence, he may here return south- 
ward by a regular hne of conveyance to Plattsburg, which 
is distant but sixty-six miles. 

Continuing his com'se toward Quebec, the first place which 
he passes is Port au Tremble, ten miles below Montreal ; a 
neat village, containing about fifty houses, a church, chapel, 
and parsonage-house. The main road to Quebec passes 
through this place, which always brings to it a constant suc- 
cession of travellers, for whose reception there are some 
inns, where accommodation, in all the principal requisites, is 
to be obtained. 

Ten miles farther bring us to the town of *S';^. Sulpice, on. 
the northern shore ; and in twenty -five more, we reach IVil- 
liam-Henry, or Sorel, built at the mouth of the River Richlieu. 
This is the point of communication between Lake Champlain 
and the St. Lawrence, and is of course a station very impor- 
tant to the countries on these great waters. The fort was 
intended as a defence against the incursions of the Indians, and 
received its name of Sorel from a captain of engineers who 
superintended its construction. The present town was begun 
in 1785, by some loyalists and disbanded soldiers ; and it 
continues to be the residence of many old military pension- 
ers. Although the plan of the town occupies about one 
hundred and twenty acres, the number of houses does not 
much exceed one hundred and fifty, exclusive of stores, 
barracks, and government buildings. The form is regular, 
and the streets intersect each other at right angles, leaving 
a central square, of more than five hundred feet on a side. 
The town is built entirely of wood, and the aspect of many 
of the buildings is more hke that of an Anglo-American town 
than any yet seen in Lower Canada. The population is about 
fifteen hundred. The churches are of stone. 

ft2 



186 LAKE ST. rETER — THREE RIVERS — RICHLIEU RAPIDS. 

*The River Sorel, or Michlieu, is two hundred and fifty yards 
broad, opposite to the town; but it presents the singular ex- 
ample of a river much naiTower at its embouchure than at 
its orig-in. It is more than four times as wide at St John's 
as at Sorel, and continues to widen all the way up the stream 
to Lake Champlain. From St. John's, there is also a ship 
navigation into the lake ; but from the town of Sorel, vessels 
of one hundred and fifty tons ascend only twelve or fourteen 
miles. 

Just below Sorel, the St. Lawrence spreads into Lake St. 
Peter, another basin, and the last in its progress towards the 
sea. Like most of the others, this has a group of islands, 
covering about nine miles of the western part; between them^ 
two distinct channels are formed: the one to the south being 
the deepest and clearest, is consequently the best for ships. 
' The banks on each side are very low, with shoals stretching 
from them to a considerable distance, so that only a narrow 
passage, whose general depth is from twelve to eighteen 
feet, is left unobstructed. 

The town of Three Rivers, the capital of the district of the 
same name, is a large place, being the third in point of size 
in the pro^dnce. It is eighty miles below Montreal; at the 
head of the tide of the St, Lawrence, and at the entrance 
of St. Maurice ri^'er into it. It contains about three hundred 
and twenty houses, and two thousand fi\'e hundred inhabit- 
ants: it extends about one thousand three hundred yards 
along the river, and was founded in 1618. 

There is but little variation in the general aspect of the 
river, until we reach the Richlieu Rapids, about fifty-two 
miles below. The bed of the stream is here so much con- 
tracted or obstructed by huge masses of rock, as to leave 
but a very narrow channel, wherein at ebb tide thei'e is so 
great a descent, that much caution, and a proper time of the 
ebb, are necessary to pass through it. At the end of the 
.rapids, there is good anchorage, where vessels can wait for 
a convenient opportunity to pass them. From Montreal thus 
far, the banks are of a very moderate elevation, and uniform- 
ly level ; but here they become much higher, and gradually 
increase in their approach to Quebec, until they attain the 
height of Cape Diamond, upon which the city is built. 

Quebec, the capital of Upper Canada, and one of the oldest 
cities on the western continent, contains a population of about 



aUEBEC — THE CHATEAU. 187 

twenty tliousand. It is built on a promontory formed by the 
entrance of the river St. Charles into the St. Lawrence, 
which is the termination of a ridg-e of land, generally from 
one to two miles wide, that runs from west to east. On 
the north side, it has the bold promontory of Cape Diamond, 
rising almost perpendicularly three hundred and forty-five 
feet above the water; and across it, at the north-east or lower 
end, the city is built. The fortifications, extending- across 
ttie peninsula, shut in the ground on which the city stands, 
the circuit of which is about two and a half miles. It is di- 
vided into two parts, the upper and lower. The upper town 
is situated on the side of Cape Diamond, which slopes to the 
north, towards the river St. Charles. It is separated from 
the lower town by a line of steep rocks, which run from the 
cape towards the west. The lower town is situated imme- 
diately under Cape Diamond, on ground that may be tenned 
artificial, as formerly at flood tide the water of the river used 
to wash the very foot of the rock. The streets run from the 
upper side of Cape Diamond, down to the St. Charles, a 
distance of about half a mile: they are of considerable breadth, 
and tlie houses large and commodious ; those next the river 
have attached to them very extensive warehouses, and vessels 
come close to the v/harves to discharge their cargoes. The 
communication between the upper and lower towns is by 
a winding street, at the top of which is a fortified gate. 

The upper town is the seat of the government, and the 
principal residence of the military. The peculiar situation 
occasions great irregularity and unevenness in the streets. 
Many of them are narrow, but most of them are well paved : 
the breadth of the principal ones is thirty-two feet, others 
only from twenty-four to twenty-seven feet. The houses are 
generally built of stone, of very unequal height, with sloping 
roofs ; but great improvement has of late years taken place 
in the mode of building, and many of the houses are modern 
in their appearance, and very handsome. There are a number 
of public edifices in Quebec, though none of them of remark- 
able elegance. The Castle^ or Chateau de St. Louis, is the 
residence of the governor. It is a plain building, of common 
stone, situated in an open space, the houses around which 
form three sides of an oblong square. It consists of two parts, 
the old and the new, which are separated from each other by 
a spacious court. The former stands just on the verge of aii 



1^8 Q.UEBEC— THE CHATEAU. 

inaccessible part of the rock: behind it, on the outside, there 
is a long galleiy, from which if a pebble were dropped, it 
would fall perpendicularly for a great distance. This old part 
is chiefly taken up with the public offices, and all the apart- 
ments in it are small and ill contrived ; but in the new part, 
which stands in front of the other, facing the square, they 
are spacious and tolerably well finished, though none of them 
can be called elegant. This part is inhabited by the govern- 
or's family. The Chateau is built without any regularity of 
design, neither the old nor the new part having an uniform 
front. It is not a place of strength, as commonly represent- 
ed. In the garden adjoining to it, is merely a parapet wall, 
along the edge of the rock, with embrasures, in which a few 
small guns are planted, commanding a part of the lower 
town. Every evening during summer, when the weather is 
fine, one of the regiments of the garrison parades in the open 
place before the Chateau, and the band plays for an hour or 
two, at which time the place becomes the resort of numbers 
of the most genteel people, and has a very gay appearance. 

The interior of the castle is shown to visitors with great 
readiness ; but there is nothing worthy of very particular ob- 
servation. Some of the rooms are large and handsome, but 
they are inferior in elegance to those of many private houses. 
The furniture, with a few exceptions, is far from being splen- 
did : some articles are rich, but many are hardly worthy of 
the distinguished place they occupy. Among its curiosities 
is a famous round table, with a circular place cut in the 
middle. This, it seems, is occupied by the host, when he 
drinks wine with his friends, who are arranged round him 5 
that there may be no impediment to conviviality, nor even 
the usual trouble of circulating the bottle, there is an inge- 
nious machine, made of brass, and shaped somewhat like a 
sextant, which can at pleasure be attached to the table, or 
be removed. The centre embraces a pivot, on which it 
moves, and the periphery of the circle sustains the bottle : 
the machine revolves in the plane of a horizontal circle, in 
other words, on the circular table ; this is effected merely by 
touching a spring. The contrivance is certainly as important 
as it is original. 

From the gallery of the castle, there is a magnificent view 
of the river and the surrounding country. The foundation 
of the castle is two hundred feet above the river; and though 



aU£BEC — PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 189 

this elevation renders it a cool and refreshing spot in tlte 
heats of summer, it must make it bleak and cheerless in 
winter. 

The Catholic Cathedral is a long, elevated, and plain build- 
ing of stone, with the spire on one side of its front. The 
interior is neat and spacious ; and it is capable of containing" 
four thousand persons, being two hundred and sixteen feet 
long, and one hundred and eight broad. Its appearance is 
ancient and venerable, and its walls are adorned with pictures 
and imaged. 

The Protestant Cathedral is the handsomest modern build- 
ing in the city. It is of stone, and its dimensions are one 
hundred and thirty-six feet long by seventy-five broad. It 
stands on ground nearly as high as any in the place, and is 
seen at a great distance. 

Near this church is the Court-House, a handsome stone 
building, one hundred and thirty-six feet long and forty -four 
wide. These two buildings are constructed on the site for- 
merly occupied by the church and garden of the Recollets, 
or Franciscan friars, which were destroyed by fire about 
thirty years since. Considered as ornamental to the city of 
Quebec, it is to be regretted that separate situations have not 
been allotted to them 5 and that in a country where public 
buildings, capable of attracting notice, are rarely to be met 
with, two edifices of such consequence should have been 
placed so near to each other. 

The Hotel Dieu, with its gardens, occupies a large extent 
of gi'ound. It was founded in 1638, by the Dutchess d'Ai- 
guilion, who sent from the Hospital at Dieppe, three nuns, for 
the purpose of commencing this charitable and useful institu- 
tion. It consists of a superior, and twenty-seven sisters, whose 
principal occupation is to assist, and to administer medicines 
and food to invalids of both sexes, who may be sent to the 
hospital, and who are lodged in wards, where great regard 
is paid to cleanliness. The principal building is three hun- 
dred and eighty -three feet long by fifty broad, and the whole 
institution is conducted with a humanity, benevolence, com- 
fort and good arrangement, which do infinite credit to the 
city, and to the charitable sisterhood who preside over it. 

The Convent of the Ursulines is a square, whose side is 
one hundred and twelve feet ; the institution was founded in 
1639, by Madame de la Peltrie, a young widow of good family 



190 aUEBEC — ^PUBLIC BUILDIN-SS. 

in France. It is possessed by a superior and thirty -six nuns, 
who are chiefly engag-ed in the instruction of young women. 

The Bishop*s Palace stands near the grand battery, in a 
very commanding situation 5 it has been for several years oc- 
cupied for public offices and for a library ; an annuity being 
paid to the Catholic bishop. Its chapel is converted into a 
hall, in which the provincial parliament holds its sessions. 

The monastery, or College of the Jesuits, now used for bar- 
racks, is three stories high, and forms a parallelogram two 
hundred and twenty -four feet long by two hundred feet wide. 
It was originally founded in 1635 ; the society of Jesuits in 
Canada at that time formed a numerous body, and their "col- 
lege was considered as the first institution on the continent 
of North America, for the instruction of young men. The 
advantages derived from it were not limited to the better 
classes of Canadians, but were extended to all whose inclina- 
tion led them to participate in them; and many students came 
thither from the West Indies. From the period of the expul- 
sion of the Jesuits from the states of Europe, and the con- 
sequent abolition of their order on that continent, this estab- 
lishment, although protected by the British government, be- 
gan rapidly to decline. The last member of that fraternity 
died about twenty years since, and the buildings, as well as 
lands, which form an extensive domain, devolved to the crown. 
The landed property was designed by the sovereign as a 
recompense for the services of the late lord Amherst, who 
commanded the troops in North America, at the time of the 
conquest of Canada, and who completed the reduction of that 
province, under the British government. The claim to these 
estates has however been rehnquished by his successor, for 
a pension. The revenue arising from them, has been appro- 
priated by the Legislature of Lower Canada, to the purpose 
of establishing in the different parishes, schools for the edu- 
cation of children. The Jesuits' college is now converted 
into a commodious barrack for the troops. 

The Seminary, a building of some extent, fonning three 
sides of a square, open towards the north-west, contains a 
variety of apartments, suited for the accommodation of a 
certain number of ecclesiastics, and of young students, who 
are of the Roman Catholic religion. This institution owes its 
foundation to M. de Petre, who, in 1663, obtained from the 
king of France letters patent for that purpose. Tythes were 



aUEBEC ^PUBLIC BUILDINGS — ^FORTIFICATION S. 191 

enjoined to be paid by the inhabitants, to the directors of ttie 
seminary, for its support; and a thirteenth in addition to what 
was already the rig"ht of the church was levied. This regula- 
tion being found too oppressive, was altered to a twenty-sixth 
pai't of the produce, to be paid in grain ; from which tax, 
newly cleared lands were exempted for a space of five years. 
The members of this seminary are composed of a superior, 
three directors and six or seven masters, who are appointed 
to instruct young men in the different branches of education 
professed by each. Since the decline and extinction of the 
order of Jesuits, the seminary, which was at first exclusively 
designed for the education of priests, and, excepting the col- 
lege of Montreal, is the only public establishment of the kind 
in the province, has been opened to all young men of the 
Catholic faith, although they may not be destined for the 
sacerdotal function. The north-east aspect of this building 
is agreeable in summer, having under it a spacious garden, 
which extends nearly to the precipice on the east, and over- 
looks the lower town. It is built of stone, forming three 
sides of a square, two hundred and nineteen feet long and 
one hundred and twenty broad. 

The New Jail is a handsome structure of stone, standing 
on very elevated ground ; it is one hundred and sixty feet 
long by sixty-eig'ht broad, and three stories high ; the cost of 
it exceeded fifteen thousand pounds. 

The Artillery Barracks were built by the French in 1750. 
They extend five hundred and twenty-seven feet by forty, 
and contain accommodations for the artillery troops of the 
garrison, work-shops, store-houses, &c. and every variety of 
small arms for twenty thousand men, which are always kept 
fit for immediate use, and are fancifully arranged. 

Next to the public buildings of Quebec, the most interest- 
ing feature is its Fmiijications. The lower town of course 
is not included in these ; its situation is such as to render its 
defence impracticable, and there is no military work within 
it except a small battery. But the upper town presents to Si 
traveller, unused to military works, a scene which he can 
scai'cely conceive ; seated on the summit of the rock, its 
precipice on the south and east woidd seem to make caution 
almost useless, but art has superadded her defences, and ren- 
dered it impregnable. A complete wall of the heaviest hewn 
stone, constructed with elegance, as well as strength, com- 



192 dUEBEC—FORTIFICATIONSr 

pletely encircles the town, and is furnished with strong massy 
arches and g-ates, and with deep ditches. 

The walls of Quebec vary much, in different parts, in height 
and thickness. Everywhere, however, they are hig-h enough 
to render escalade very difficult, and a breach almost hope- 
less. In the strongest parts, next to the plains of Abraham, 
they appear to be forty or fifty feet thick, and equally high. 
Even the lofty precipices of naked rock are surmounted 
with a stone wall, and with cannon ; and the highest points 
are crowned with towers and distinct batteries. In general, 
the curtains of the wall are looped for musketry, and pro- 
jecting bastions present their artillery towards the assailants, 
in every direction, and of course so as to rake the ditches. 

" When we visited the plains of Abraham," says Mr. Silli- 
man, " we drove out and in by the g-ate St. Louis, where the 
wall appeared to be fifty feet thick,' and nearly as high ; this 
was the judgment we formed, without inquiry — I need not 
say, without measurement. A deep ditch succeeds, and then 
there is an exterior, but lower wall, and another ditch, both 
of which must be scaled, before the main wall can be ap- 
proached. A storming party would be dreadfully exposed, 
while mounting this exterior wall. The avenue to the gate 
is bounded on both sides by a high wall, and makes several 
turns in zigzag. At every turn, cannon point directly at 
the approaches; and generally, down eveiy ditch, and in 
every possible direction, where the walls can be approached, 
great guns are ready to cut down the assailants. The highest 
part of the citadel is Brock's batteiy, which is a mould artifi- 
cially raised, higher than eveiy thing else, and mounted with 
cannon, pointing towards the plains of Abraham. It was 
named after General Brock, who fell at Queenston during 
the late war, about the time that Montreal was threatened by 
Generals Wilkinson and Hampton. This commands every 
part of the works on that side, and is intended, I presume, 
besides the general objects of defence, to operate, in the 
last resoi-t, on an enemy who may scale all the other walls. 

" We were however very forcibly struck with the formida- 
ble preparations, which seem on all sides to render an attack 
upon the place a hopeless enterprise. Within the walls 
are numerous magazines, furnished with every implement 
and preparation, and more or less proof against the various 
missiles of war. Piles of cannon-balls are everywhere to be 



aUEBEC- — FORTiriCAT10:srS — EKYIRONS. 193 

seen, and I presume there are some hundreds of heavy 
cannon mounted on the walls, and in the various defences. 
About fortj'- acres of ground, within Cape Diamond, are re- 
served for military works. Beyond the walls, on the plains 
of Abraham, are the four Martello towers; they are solidly con- 
structed of stone, and appear to be forty feet high, and at the 
base have probably a diameter not much inferior; as they have 
cannon on their tops, they of course sweep the whole plain, 
and effectually command it ; the particular object of the con- 
struction was to prevent an enemy from occupying" the high 
ground on the plains of Abraham. These towers are very 
strong on the side most remote from the town, and weaker 
on the side next to it, that they may be battered from it, should 
an enemy obtain possession of them. 

" On the whole, as long as the river is in possession of those 
who defend the town, and as long as the latter is sufficiently 
furnished with men, and other means necessary to render its 
fortifications efficient, there appears little hope of taking it 
at all, and certainly not without such an expense of blood, as 
it is very painful to contemplate. An officer of the garrison 
informed us, that it took him one hour and a half, merely to 
visit all the sentinels on duty, upon the various stations on 
the v/alls ; this appears to evince, that the walls cannot be 
much less than three miles in circuit ; and the same military 
man gave it as his opinion, that it would require at least 
ten thousand men for a complete garrison." 

The environs of Quebec include many objects which are 
worthy of a traveller's notice ; and from the summit of the 
citadel, a circuit of ten miles will embrace places which are 
interesting from historical associations and natural curiosities. 
To the north we see at our feet the Biver St. Charles, spread- 
ing widely as it enters the St. Lawrence; along its shores are 
wharves and warehouses, and the lower town is fast encroach- 
ing upon it ; after winding along for some distance to the 
westward, it turns to the north, its banks well cultivated, and 
here and there adorned with villages, till it finds its source in 
the same highlands from which the larger river of Jacques 
Cartier also flows. 

Among these villages, the principal one is Jeune Lorettef 
nine miles north-west of Quebec, commanding, by its elevat- 
ed position, an extensive view of the river St. Lawrence, of 
Quebec and the intermediate countiT, of the southern coast, 
U 



194 JEUNE LORETTE — -CHAaLEBOURG. 

and the mountains which separate Canada from the United 
States. The village, which contains upwards of two hundred 
inhabitants, consists of about fifty houses, constinicted of 
wood and stone, and has a pretty appearance. The chapel 
is small but neat 5 and as the parish extends to a consider- 
able distance around, the Canadians, who form the greatest 
number of parishioners, have procured a church to be erect- 
ed for their accommodation, about a quarter of a mile from 
the villag-e. The Indians attend, with scrupulous observ- 
ance, to the performance of their devotions. They live to- 
gether in a state of almost uninterrupted harmony and tran- 
quillity. The missionary has great influence over them ; and 
they have exchanged, in some degree, the manners of savage 
life, for those of the Canadians, in wliose vicinity they reside. 

This nation originally hved in the vicinity of Lake Hu- 
ron, nearly a thousand miles from Quebec. It was once the 
most formidable and fierce of any tribe that inhabited those 
quarters, dreaded even by the Iroquois ; who however found 
means to subjugate, and almost extirpate it, by pretending to 
enter into an alliance. The Hurons too blindly relied on the 
protestations of the Iroquois, and they seized an opportunity 
to surprise and slaughter them. 

Near this village, the St. Charles rolls over a steep and ir- 
regular rock, of the altitude of thirty feet, forming a beauti- 
ful and romantic cataract. In passing a mill which is under 
the fall, the current becomes extremely narrow ; and for the 
space of tliree miles, is bounded by woody banks, on which 
there are frequent openings cut through the trees, disclosing 
the rushing waters. The rapidity of the stream, opposed by 
rocks, produces quantities of white foam upon its gloomy 
surface, accompanied with murmuring sounds. The water- 
fall, with the smaller cascades above it, the mill, the bridge, 
the village and the distant lulls, present an agreeable land- 
scape. 

Proceeding a little towards the east, we find the village of 
Charlebourg, one of the oldest settlements in the neighbour- 
hood, and commanding, from its lofty position, a nch and 
extensive prospect. 

Still more du'ectly to the north-east, the northeni shore of 
the St. Lawrence presents itself, adorned with villages as far 
as the river Montmorenci. The first four miles, to Beauport, 
are a succession of beautiful meadows, neatly divided into 



BEAUPORT RIVER MOSTTMORESTCI. 195 

small enclosures, by stakes driven into the ground, and se- 
cured at top by a rail, fastened with withes ; the meadows 
are covered with thriving cattle ^ they are rich in deep ver- 
dure, and would adorn the banks of the Connecticut or the 
Delaware. Houses are scattered here and there, upon the 
meadows ; and when we begin to ascend the rising ground, 
we enter the extensive village of Beauport. 

This village, consisting of sixty or seventy houses, is princi- 
pally built on one street, and extends quite to the river 
Montmorenci ; it presents a beautiful and brilliant appear- 
ance from the bay of Quebec. The farms and gardens of tlie 
village are all in a flourishing state^ and the orchards, and oc- 
casional clumps of trees, combine to render it one of the 
pleasantest roads in the environs of the city. This village is 
the residence of many families of respectability. The houses 
are generally of stone, covered with a cement and white wash- 
ed, on the roof as well as the walls, which gives them a neat 
appearance, and makes them look very brilliant, . even at a 
considerable distance? commonly they are of one story, some- 
times of two, and inside they appear very comfortable. The 
windows, as is generally the fact in French houses, are di- 
vided, up and down, in the middle, and swing like doors on 
hinges. There is in this village, a large and showy church, 
with three steeples ; and if a traveller has tlie curiosity to 
enter it, he will be sure of finding some solitary individuals 
at their private devotions, crossing themselves with holy wa- 
ter, and silently moving their lips. It contains a number of 
pictures, and its ceiling is ornamented with golden roses. 

The river Montmorenci, which we now reach, is a stream 
not very large, rising to the north, in the Cote de Beaupre, 
and receives its name from a former viceroy. It sweeps 
along in many places over rocky precipices — ^the banks are 
clothed with trees, which, together with the effect produced 
by the foaming cuirents, and the scattered masses of stone, 
compose a scene wild and picturesque. After thus exhibit- 
ing a grateful variety throug'liout its course, the river is pre- 
cipitated in an almost perpendicular direction, over a rock 
of the height of two hundred and forty-six feet, falhng, where 
it touches it, in white clouds of rolling foam, and underneath, 
where it is propelled without interruption, in numerous 
flakes, like wool or cotton, which are gradually protracted 



196 FALL Of 3I0STM0KEXCI C'HATJiAU KICHEB. 

in their descent, until they are received into the boiling", 
profound abyss below. 

This cataract forms the celebrated Fall of Montmormci, 
perhaps second only to Niagara in mag-nificence. The effect 
is indescribably beautiful; the river, like a white ribbon, seems 
suspended in the air in a sheet of billowy foam; the light 
spray, like the thin veil around the form of beauty, only re- 
veals with more softness the bright smooth surface of the tor-? 
rent ; and the rainbow, arch within arch, presents for ever 
on the fleecy clouds, as they float away, its glorious colours. 
The breadth of the fall is one hundred feet. The basin is 
bounded by steep cliffs, composed of grey lime slate, lying 
in inclined strata, which on the east and west sides are sub- 
divided into innumerable thin layers, forming, with the hori- 
zon, an angle of forty-five degrees, and containing between 
them fibrous gypsum and pierre a la calumet. Mouldering 
as they do incessantly, by exposure to the air, and to the 
action of tjie weather, no surface for vegetation remains upon 
these substances. 

Still farther to the north-east, beyond Montmorenci, are the 
venerable ruins of Chateau Richer, seated on a rocky cliff ris- 
ing from the St. Lawrence. It was a Franciscan monastery, 
when the army under General Wolfe encamped on the east- 
ern bank of the Montmorenci. As the monks used their in- 
fluence among the inhabitants in their vicinity, to impede a 
supply of provisions for the English army, it was deemed ne- 
cessary to send thither a detachment to make them prisoners. 
They had so fortified themselves within their mansion, that 
field pieces were required to compel them to surrender. The 
house was destroyed by fire : and nothing now remains, ex- 
cept a part of the wails, and the rurns of an adjoining- tower. 
By an inscription above the door, it appears to have been 
built upwards of a century ago. The parish church is placed 
on a bank immediately behind the Chateau, and has two 
spires. The scene which these objects present, when com- 
bined together, is one of great beauty ; we see at once the 
ruins of the monasteiy, the chm'ch, banks clothed with foli- 
age, and the lower grounds studded with white cottages, over 
which Cape Toiu-ment, and the chain of mountains whose 
termination it forms, tower with exalted majesty. 

Pursuing our panoramic view, as we turn more to the south, 
the St. Lawrence, with its basin, appears directly at the foot 



POINT LEVI — CHAUJOIEBE FAIIS. 197 

of Cape Diamond, and as we look down it, the beautiful isle 
of Orleans spreads in its centre. Rising- from the river, in 
some parts with steep and woody banks, in others with more 
g-entle ascent, it presents to the eye an agreeable object. Its 
nearest point is six miles north-east of Quebec, The fall of 
Montmorenci discloses itself from this island, amidst a rich 
and enchanting combination of features. The central part 
is clothed with trees ; and the ground slopes from it on either 
side, while few eminences occur to interrupt the view. At 
the lower extremity of the island, there are situations no less 
bold than picturesque. The northern shore is interspersed 
with immense masses of detached limestone rock, and the 
south side is clothed with trees to the borders of the great 
river ; from either are seen Cape Tourmenty and the isles and 
mountains named les Ehoulements^ which pierce the clouds 
with their pointed summits. The soil of the island is in ge- 
neral fertile, affording more produce than is necessary for 
the consumption of its inhabitants. 

Coursing round to the south, and crossing the St. Law- 
rence,, the first object that attracts our notice is the bold 
promontory of Point Levi^ rising from the river directly op- 
posite to Beauport, and about a mile due east from Cape 
Diamond. It is very lofty, but not quite so high as the for- 
tress, and was the spot on which General Wolfe had directed 
batteries to be placed during the siege. 

Proceeding up the south shore of the river, opposite to 
the city, we pass the small stream of JEche7nin, at whose 
mouth are several mills ; and about eight miles above, reach 
the Chaudiere, a large river flowing from the south. On it, 
four miles above its entrance into the St. Lawrence, are the 
Falkf which are well worth a visit : tlieir breadth at the 
summit is about one hundred and twenty yards, and in the 
spring of the year the waters flow abundantly, swoln by 
the increase which they receive from the dissolving snows 
of the country through which they run, and from tributary 
streams, which at this season are likewise augmented by 
the same causes. The waters descend from a height of one 
hundi'ed and twenty feet; and being separated by rocks, 
form thi'ee distinct cataracts, the largest of which is on the 
western side, and they unite in the basin beneath, their broken 
and agitated waves. The wild diversity displayed on the 
banks of the stream, and the foliage of the overhanging 

e2 



198 CAPE R0U6i:-=-siLLEaY — Wolfe's cove» 

woods, the brilliancy of colours richly contrasted, the rapidity 
of motion, the effulgent brightness of the cataracts, the deep 
and solemn sound which they emit, and the various cascades 
further down the river, unite in rendering this such a pleas- 
ing exhibition of natural objects as few Scenes can surpass. 

Crossing the St. Lawrence, we find, nearly opposite, on 
its northern shore, the promontory of Cape RougCy eight miles 
above Cape Diamond. It is a very lofty bank, suddenly de- 
clining to a valley, through which a small river, the outlet of 
a lake situated among the mountains on the north, runs into 
the St. Lawrence. A slate-stone, of a reddish colour, easily 
mouldering into thin strata, is found at the surface, on the 
summit of the bank. 

Proceeding down the river towards Quebec, we reach 
Sllkry, three miles above it, where are the ruins of a religi- 
ous institution, established in 1637 for the conversion and 
instruction of natives of the country. In the vicinity, the 
Algonquins once had a village. Several of their tumuli or 
buiying places are still discoverable in the woods ; and hie- 
roglyphics, cut on the trees, remain in some situations yet 
un effaced. 

A mile below Sillery is Wolfe's Cove, the spot where that 
celebrated general disembarked his army, previous to the 
battle on the plains above. The bank cf the river is here 
extremely abrupt and precipitous, rising to the elevation of 
two hundred feet ; and on its summit is a fine level surface, 
forming the Heights of Abraham, rising nearly to the same 
height as Cape Diamond, and forming the only point from 
which the fortress could be attacked with any prospect of 
success. 

Before leaving Quebec, we may gratify the traveller by a 
few historical reminiscences. Nearly a century had elapsed 
from the period at which Jacques Cartier explored the St. 
Lawrence, before any other intercourse with Canada was 
carried on, than that of the hunters and traders who visited 
it to obtain furs. In the beginning of the seventeenth cen- 
turj", however, Samuel de Champlain, geographer to the 
king of France, a man of enterprise and talent, actuated by 
liberal sentiments, and by patriotic more than by interested 
views, after having surveyed the borders of the river for the 
choice of a situation presenting the greatest conveniences 
for a settlement, gave the preference to an elevated promon- 



tlLEBEC — HISTOHr. 199 

tory, between the St. Lawrence and the small river St. Charles. 
It is asserted, that some of his attendants having pronounced, 
at the first view of this point of land, the words " Quel bee,'* 
Champlain bestowed that name on his projected town. By 
others it has been said, that the place derived its name from 
^* Quebeio," an Indian word, signifying-, in the language of 
the Algonquins, * narrow,' there being just at Quebec a 
contraction in the river. 

It was on the 3d of July, 1608, that Champlain founded 
his town on the site of an Indian village called Stadacone ; 
and it remained undisturbed as a French colony until 1629, 
when it was taken by the English, by whom however it was 
restored tliree years after. In 1663, it was made a royal go- 
vernment, and became a regular and important colony. In 
1690, Sir William Phipps, with a great armament from Bos- 
ton, attacked, cannonaded, and landed an army before it, but 
was repulsed with great loss and disgrace. In 1712, the same 
attempt was again made by an English fleet under Sir Ho- 
venden Walker, who was wrecked in the St. Lawrence, 
losing seven of his largest ships and three thousand men ; 
v^'hile General Nicholson, who was approaching with an army 
by the way of Montreal, was obliged to retreat. 

In 1759, it was again attacked by the English ; and in this 
attempt they were more successful. It was taken, but at a 
dear cost — ^the hfe of the gallant Wolfe. The British govern- 
ment, having carried on the war with France, on the Ameri- 
can continent, for a long time without any decisive success, 
determined at length to adopt a plan more extended and 
vigorous. It was concerted to attack the French at their 
different strongholds at once ; that General Wolfe, who had 
so eminently distinguished himself at the siege of Louis- 
bourg, should proceed up the river St. Lawrence, with a 
body of eight thousand men, and a stout fleet from England, 
and besiege the city of Quebec ; that General Amherst, com- 
mander in chief of the British forces in North America, 
should, with an army of twelve thousand men, reduce Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point, cross Lake Champlain, and, pro- 
ceeding by the way of Richlieu river to the banks of the 
St. Lawrence, join General Wolfe in his attempt upon 
the capital of Canada ; and that Brigadier-General Prideaux, 
with a third army, reinforced by a body of provincials and 



200 QUEBEC HISTOaY. 

friendly Indians under Sir William Johnston, should invest 
the important fortress of Niagara. 

In pursuance of this plan, Ticonderoga and Crown Point 
were taken by General Amherst ; and after a battle under 
the walls, Prideaux entered Niagara in triumph. The arma- 
ment intended for Quebec sailed up the river St. Law- 
rence, without meeting with any interruption, or perceiving 
any of those difficulties and perils, with which it had been 
reported the navigation of it was attended. Having reach- 
ed the island of Orleans, General Wolfe landed his forces 
on the 27th of June, and erected works for the security 
of the hospitals and stores. The French were encamped, 
with a force of ten thousand men, under the Marquis de 
Montcalm, a gallant and experienced commander, along the 
northern bank of the St. Lawrence, between the rivers St. 
Charles and Montmorenci, their left extending to the latter. 
They had also some artilleiy and a force at Point Levi, on 
the opposite shore, from which Brigadier-General Monkton 
was sent with four battalions to drive tliem. He passed 
the river on the night of the 29th, and marched the next 
day to the Point, whence he obliged the enemy's troops 
to retire, and possessed himself of that post : on this occa- 
sion, the advanced parties had two or three skirmishes with 
the Canadians and Indians, with little loss on either side. 
The French soon after passed over from Quebec, with six- 
teen hundred men, to attack General Monkton, but fell into 
confusion, fired on one another, and retreated back to the 
city. General Monkton severely cannonaded and bombarded 
Quebec from this point; but although his fire was quite 
destructive to the lower town, and very injurious to the 
buildings in the upper, it made no serious impression on its 
defences, and left the place nearly as tenable as ever. 

General Wolfe determined at length to adopt bolder mea- 
sures, and to attack the enemy, stationed as they were in a 
position of great strength. Having selected the place where 
the attack should be made, which was at the mouth of the 
Montmorenci, thirteen companies of grenadiers were landed 
on the morning of the 31st of July, under Generals Townsend 
and Murray. They had orders, immediately on reaching the 
shore, to form themselves on the beach; but instead of doing 
as tliey had been directed, from the noise and hurry of their 



> BATTLE Of SlONTJUtOREJiTCI. -201 

landing", or from an incautious ardour, they rushed impetu- 
ously towards the enemy's intrenchments in the utmost dis- 
order and confusion, without waiting- for the corps which were 
to sustain them and join in the attack. In this state, they 
were met by a severe and steady fire from the enemy's in- 
trenchments, by which they were thrown into still g-reater 
confusion, and which obliged them at length to shelter them- 
selves behind a redoubt, that the French had abandoned on 
their approach. This repulse destroyed the plan wliich Gene- 
ral Wolfe had formed ; and as night was coming- on, and the 
tide beginning to make, he had no alternative but to retire 
to his camp across the river. 

Thus ended the battle of Montmorenci, one which has 
always been considered as rash, and which the gallant chief 
himself excused, only on the ground of a desire to act in 
conformity to the intentions of his government, relying on 
the courage of his troops. The result, however, caused him 
extreme mortification : his soul was sensitive as it was brave : 
he well knew the capricious character of his nation, clamor- 
ous even to persecution against those who miscarried in their 
undertaking's, without regarding whether that miscarriage 
arose from accident or fault ; while success was applauded 
with the wildest enthusiasm, and with as little reason. Among 
those who shai'ed his confidence, he was often observed to 
sigh; he was often heard to complain; and even, in the trans- 
ports of his chagrin, he declared, that he would never return 
without success, to be exposed, as other unfortunate com- 
manders had been, to the censure and reproach of an igno- 
rant and ungrateful populace. This tumult of mind, added 
to the bodily fatigue he had undergone, produced a fever 
and dysentery, by which for some time he was totally disabled. 

Amid his sickness, however, his daring and intrepid mind 
suggested to him a plan, the seeming impossibility of which 
perhaps excited more strongly his determined valour: — this 
was, to attack the enemy on the plains of Abraham above the 
city. The situation of that place, and the abrupt precipices 
by which it is guarded, we have already described ; and so 
little idea had the cautious Montcalm that such a spot could 
ever become the scene of conflict, that he had only a few 
guards stationed there. Breaking up the camp at Montmo- 
renci, the besieging army were conveyed \xp the river, and 
encamped on the southern shore, some distance above Que- 



202 aUEBEC — KISTOKY. 

bee. General Montcalm despatched a corps of obsei'vation 
after them, consistmg- of one thousand five hundred men, 
under General Bougainville, but still maintained his station 
with the main army at Beauport. 

On the 12th of September, one hour after midnig-ht, Ge- 
neral Wolfe, with his army, leaving the ships, embarked in 
boats, and silently dropped down with the current, intending 
to land a league above Cape Diamond, and thus gain the 
heights of Abraham. As they passed along, an unexpected 
obstacle had neai-ly defeated all their plans. The French 
had posted sentinels along the shore, to challenge boats and 
vessels, and give the alarm when necessary. As the fii'st boat 
passed, one of them accordingly cried out, " Qui vit?" (Who 
goes there?) It fortunately happened that there was in it 
a captain who had served in Holland, and was familiar with 
the French language and military customs — he promptly re- 
plied in the proper word, *'La France !" The next question 
was much more embarrassing 5 for the sentinel demanded, 
**A quel regiment ?" (To what regiment ?) The captain, 
who happened to know the name of one of the regiments 
which was up the river with Bougainville, promptly rejoin- 
ed, *' De la Reine." (The Queen's.) The soldier immedi- 
ately rephed, '* Passe," for he concluded at once, that this 
was a French convoy of provisions, which, as the English 
had learned, was expected to pass down the river to Quebec. 
The other sentinels were deceived in a similar manner ; but 
one, less credulous than the rest, running down to the water's 
edge, called out, "Fourquoi est ce que vous ne parlez plus 
haut?" (Why don't you speak louder?) The same captain, 
with perfect self-command, replied, " Tai toi, nous serons 
entendues!" (Hush, we shall be overheard and discovered!) 
The sentry, satisfied with this caution, retired. 

A little farther on, they made another hair-breadth escape. 
In the early part of the evening, two French deserters were 
carried on board a ship of war, commanded by Captain Smith, 
and lying at anchor near the northern shore. They told him 
that the garrison of Quebec expected that nig-ht to receive a 
convoy of provisions, to be sent down the river in boats from 
the detachment above, commanded by M. de Bougainville. 
These deserters, standing on deck, and perceiving the Eng- 
lish boats with the troops gliding down the river in the dark, 
began to shout and make a noise, declaring tliat they were 



DEATH OF WOLFE. 203 

part of the expected convoy. Captain Smith, who was ig- 
norant of General Wolfe's design, believing their affirmation, 
had actually given orders to point the guns at the British 
troops; when the general, perceiving a commotion onboard, 
rowed alongside in person, and prevented the discharge, 
which would have alarmed the town, and entirely frustrated 
the attempt. 

Having fortunately escaped these difficulties, the boats 
glided gently along ; but, owing to the rapidity of the tide 
and the darkness of the night, they passed the place which 
had been fixed on, and the troops were landed a little below, 
at the spot which, as we have mentioned, still bears the name 
of Wolfe's Cove. The g-allant general immediately sprang 
on shore, and was followed in silence by his troops. The 
rugged precipices, full of projections of rocks, and trees and 
shrubs growing everywhere among tlie cliffs into which the 
bank was broken, presented a most forbidding appearance ; 
and General AVolfe, familiarly speaking to an officer who stood 
near him, said, "I don't believe there is any possibility of 
getting up, but you must do your endeavour." There was 
only a narrow path, leading obliquely up the hill, and even 
this was intrenched, and defended by a captain's guard. These 
difficulties did not abate the liopes of the general, or the ar- 
dour of the troops. The light infantry under Colonel Howe, 
laying hold of stumps and boughs of trees, pulled themselves 
up, dislodged tlie guards, and cleared the path. The rest of 
the soldiers, suruKjunting every difficulty, gained tlie top of 
the hill, and as fast as they ascended, formed themselves, so 
that they were all in order of battle at day-break. 

Montcalm, when he heard that the English had ascended 
the hill, and were formed on the high ground at the back of 
the town, scarcely credited the intelligence, and still believed 
it a feint to induce him to abandon that strong post, which 
had been the object of all the real attempts that had been 
made since the beginning of the campaign. But he was 
soon, and fatally for him, undeceived. He saw clearly that 
the English fleet and army were in such a situation, that the 
upper and lower towns might be attacked in concert, and 
that nothing but a battle could prevent it. Accordingly, he 
determined to engage his enemy without delay; and quitting 
Beauport, crossed the river St. Charles, and formed his troops 
opposite to those of General Wolfe. 



204 auEBEC — HisTonr. 

Led on by such commanders, the battle, as it was evident 
it must be, was contested on both sides with unexampled 
bravery and skill. About nine o'clock in the morning", the 
French advanced to the charge, with great order and vivaci- 
ty, though their fire was irregular and ineffectual. On the 
contrary, the British forces reserved their shot until the 
French had approached within forty yards of their line: they 
then poured in a terrible discharge, and continued the fire 
with such deliberation and spirit, as could not fail to pro- 
duce a very considerable cflect. General Wolfe was station- 
ed on the right, at the head of his favourite regiment and 
a corps of gi-enadiers, where the attack was most warm. 
As he stood conspicuous in the front of the line, he had been 
aimed at by the enemy's marksmen, and received a shot in 
the wrist, which however, did not oblige him to quit the 
field. Having wrapped a handkerchief round his hand, he 
continued giving his orders v/ithout the least emotion ; and 
advanced at the head of the grenadiers, with their bayonets 
fixed, wlien another ball pierced the breast of the young 
hero. It was not till that moment, that he svibmitted to be 
carried into the rear of the line ? he was no longer able to 
stand, and leaned his head upon the shoulder of a Heutenant, 
who sat down for the purpose ; wlien, being aroused by the 
distant sound of "they fly, they fly !" he eagerly asked, "who 
fly ?" and being told it was tlie French, he replied, " then, I 
die happy." He asked to be sustained on his feet, that he 
might once more behold the field, but his eyes were already 
swimming in death, his vision was gone, and he expired on 
the spot. 

A lude stone marks the place where the hero drew his 
last breath ; and every wandering traveller is anxious to bear 
away a fragment, which may remind him of the emotions 
that filled his breast, as he lingered on this scene of long past 
glory. Tlic jjhilanthropist and philosopher may pity or de- 
spise the feelings wliich are excited when we contemplate 
the death of a gallant warrior, on the field of battle, and in 
the moment of victory, but tliey are feelings implanted in 
our nature, which cannot be repressed ^ the memory of his 
exploits is fi,»ndly dwelt on, long after the soldier has moul- 
dered into dust; and perhaps every manly bosom has known 
the moment when it su'eiied with tlie wisli of the gallant Gra- 
ham, that, to press some well fought and hard won field of 



DEATH OF MOKTCALM, 205 

battle, and to die with the shout of victory in oup ears, would 
be worth dying" for — woidd be worth having lived for. 

In the plaudits of the victorious hero, let us not forget his 
noble antagonist. Montcalm was mortally wounded at the 
head of his troops. He survived long enough to write a let- 
ter, with his own hand, to the English general, recommend- 
ing the French prisoners to his humanity; and, when in- 
formed that his wound was mortal, he expressed great satis- 
faction that he should not live to see the fall of Quebec. 
Montcalm's second in command. General Senezergus, also 
died of his wounds. 

The victory was of course followed by the surrender of 
Quebec, and soon after by the subjugation of the entire pro- 
vince : it thus becomes an important feature in the history of 
America ; as it terminated a long course of bloody wars, and 
even contributed, in no small degree, to the general pacifi- 
cation of Europe. In the following spring, Monsieur Levi, 
with a considerable army, leaving his encampment at Mont- 
real, proceeded down to Quebec, in order to attempt its re- 
covery from the English. General Murray, who commanded 
in the city, on his approach marched out to meet him ; and 
on the 28th of April, 1760, a bloody battle occurred, three 
miles above Quebec, at Sillery; the English aniny, very much 
inferior in numbers to the French, was severely defeated, 
with the loss of one thousand men ; and the French, it is said, 
suffered still more. The English retreated into the town ; up- 
on which the French immediately invested it, and very possi- 
bly would have reduced it, but for the arrival of an Enghsh 
squadron, with reinforcements, when they abandoned the 
siege, and retired up the river. 

Nothing interesting occurred in the histoiy of Quebec, from 
this period, until the time of our revolutionary war, when 
we have again to record the death of a hero beneath its walls. 
In the latter part of the year 1775, the provincial Congress 
determined no longer to act on the defensive against the 
British, but to carry the war into the Canadas. There were 
many circumstances which pointed out the propriety of such 
a course. General Carleton, a man of great energy and en- 
terprise, had been sent out with extraordinaiy powers, such 
as no governor before him had ever been intrusted with. It 
was known that he was exerting all his efforts to excite the 
Canadians and Indians, and stimulate them to arms against 
S 



206 atrJEBEC— HISTORX. 

the colonies. The dispositions of the people of Canada were 
well known still to be French at heart, and even somewhat 
fickle. It was known, besides, that they cherished a sullen 
discontent on account of the Quebec Act, just passed by 
the British Parhament; which, though favourable to their 
religion, replaced them in their ancient dependence towards 
the nobles, whom they detested. In addition to these advan- 
tages, which the moment offered, the province of Canada 
was unfurnished with troops of the line : they having all 
been called to Boston, And above all. Congress had been 
informed, that, in the following spring, the government was 
to make a grand effort from this quarter; that numerous 
forces, arms, and munitions, would be poured into it, in 
order to attack the colonies in the back: an operation, which, 
if not seasonably prevented, might produce fatal conse- 
quences. In addition to this, Ticonderoga and Crown Point 
were both in the possession of the Americans; and the English 
troops, shut up in Boston, and occupied with their own de- 
fence, were in no situation to cany succours into a part so re- 
mote from the provinces of the confederation. 

All these favourable circumstances co-operating, it was 
determined to send an army into Canada; and Generals Mont- 
gomery and Schuyler, with three thousand men, were direct- 
ed to proceed on the enterprise. The latter, however, owing 
to sickness, was detained at Albany ; and the entire conduct 
of the expedition devolved on General Montgomery. The 
first object of attack was St. John, on the river Sorel, which 
was garrisoned by two regiments, and well supplied with 
ammunition, stores and artillery. After a siege of five weeks, 
the place surrendered at discretion to the Americans. Tliey 
also took Ckambl^f a small fort in the neighbourhood, and 
marched on to Montreal, of which, being undefended, Mont- 
gomery took possession, without resistance. In all his mili- 
tary operations, however, in all that he wrote and spoke, 
and in all his actions, this noble officer behaved with an ur- 
banity and nobleness of spirit, which captivated the affections 
of foes as well as friends. At Montreal, a place that could 
demand of right no favour, he published a voluntary mani- 
festo, in which he declared, that the Continental army hav- 
ing a generous disdain of every act of oppression and vio- 
lence, and having come for the express purpose of givin§^ 
liberty and security, he therefore pledged his honour, t<i 



EXPEDITION OF MOBTTGOMERT. 207 

maintain in the peaceable possession of their property of 
every kind, the individuals and relig-ious communities of the 
city. He engaged to secure to all the inhabitants the free 
exercise of their religion ; hoped that the civil and religious 
rights of all the Canadians would be established upon the 
most permanent footing by a provincial congi-ess, and pro- 
mised that courts of justice should be speedily established, 
upon the most liberal plan, conformably to the British con- 
stitution. 

At Montreal, Montgomery was enabled to supply his 
troops with clothing and miUtaiy stores ; but still far from 
their homes, and in an enemy's country and a severe climate, 
they murmured at their hardships, and even in many instan- 
ces became anxious to return ; by these means, the army, al- 
ready small, and greatly reduced by the garrisons left in the 
different towns, was diminished to four hundred men, with 
which the dauntless general determined to pursue his course 
to Quebec. His elastic genius arose the stronger with each 
successive obstacle, and he seems in a degree to have im- 
parted it to his little army. Their march was in winter ? 
through bad roads and a severe climate ; beneath the fall of 
the fii*st snows, and therefore made under great hai'dships ; 
these, however, they encountered with undaunted resolu- 
tion, and arrived with incredible expedition at Quebec. 

In the meantime, the American government had determin- 
ed to support Montgomery from another quarter. Colonel 
Arnold, who successfully conducted this bold undertaking, 
acquired from it the name of the American Hannibal. He 
was detached, with a thousand men, from Cambridge, to 
penetrate into Canada, by ascending the river Kennebeckj, 
and descending by the Chaudiere, to the river St. Lawrence. 
Great were the difficulties these troops had to encounter, in 
marching by an unexplored route, three hundred miles* 
through an uninhabited country. They were often com- 
pelled, by cataracts or other impediments, to land, and to 
haul their batteaux up rapid streams, and over falls of rivers. 
Nor was their march by land more eligible than this passage 
by water. They had deep swamps, thick woods, difficult 
mountains, and craggy precipices alternately to encounter. 
At some places they had to cut theu' way, for miles together, 
through forests so thick, that their progress was only four or 
five miles a day. The constant fatigue caused many to fall 



208 QUEBEC — HISTORY. 

sick. One-third of the number which set out, was, from 
want of necessaries, obliged to return ^ while the rest pro- 
ceeded with unabated fortitude and constancy. Provisions 
grew at length so scarce, that some of the men eat their dogs, 
cartouch boxes, breeches, and shoes. Ha^dng spent thirty- 
one days in traversing a hideous wilderness, without ever 
seeing any thing human, they at length reached the inhabit- 
ed parts of Canada, where they were well received, and 
supplied with every thing necessary for their comfort. The 
Canadians were struck with amazement, when they saw this 
armed force emerging from the wilderness. It had never en- 
tered their conceptions, that it was possible for human beings 
to traverse such immense wilds. Having reached the shore 
of the St. Lawrence, Arnold awaited the arrival of Mont- 
gomery, and on the 3d of December effected a junction with 
him at Point aux Trembles. 

Upon his arrival before the town, the American general 
wrote a letter to the British governor, recommending an 
immediate surrender, to prevent the dreadful consequences 
of a storm ; but the firmness of the governor could not be 
moved, either by threats or dangers. The Americans soon 
after commenced a bombardment, with five small mortars, 
but with very little effect. In a few days. General Mont- 
gomery opened a six gun battery, at the distance of seven 
hundred yards from the walls ; but his metal was too light to 
make any impression. The garrison of Quebec, at this time, 
consisted of about fifteen hundred and twenty men, of which 
eight hundred were militia, and four hundred and fifty sea- 
men, belonging to the king's frigates or merchant ships in the 
harbour. The rest were marines, regulars, or newly raised 
emigrants. The American army consisted of about eight 
hundred men ; some having been left at Montreal, and near 
a third of Arnold's detachment, as has been related, having 
returned to Cambridge. 

In the meanwhile, no progress was made in the siege ; the 
invading army were exposed to incredible hardships; the 
snow, which fell incessantly, incumbered the earth ; and the 
cold had become so violent, that it was beyond human nature 
to support it in the open field. To render their position still 
more dismal, the small pox broke out in the camp : this 
scourge was the terror of the soldiers. It was ordered, that 
those who were attacked with it should wear a sprig of hem- 



ATTACK OF MONTGOMEET. 209 

lock upon their hats, that the others might know and avoid 
them. These circumstances persuaded Montg-omery, that 
without a bold and immediate effort, he must renounce the 
idea of satisfying public expectation, and witness the eclipse 
of his own glory. Accordingly, having determined to attempt 
the assault, he convoked a council of war, and acquainted 
them with liis project. Without denying that it was of diffi- 
cult execution, he maintained that it was possible, and that 
valour and prudence would triumph over all obstacles. AH 
were in favour of his proposition. His plan was to make four 
points of attack ; two feints against the walls of the upper 
town, one at St. John's gate, and the other near the Citadel; 
and two real assaults, each from the lower town, but on op- 
posite sides. One of these attacks was to be led by himself, 
under Cape Diamond, the other by Colonel Arnold, around 
by the river St. Charles. 

The last day of the year 1775, between four and five o'clock 
in the morning, in the midst of a heavy storm of snow, the 
four columns put themselves in motion, in the best order, each 
towards the point assigned. It is said that Captain Frazer, 
of the Irish emigrants, in going his round, perceived the fu- 
sees which the Americans fired to give the signal 5 and that 
immediately, without waiting for further commands, he order- 
ed the drums to beat, and roused the garrison to arms. The 
columns assigned to execute the feints, impeded by snow and 
other obstacles, were not in time to effect their purpose. But 
Montgomery, at the head of his party, composed chiefly of 
New-York men, advanced upon the bank of the river, march- 
ing by the way denominated Anse de Mer, under Cape Dia- 
mond. Here he encountered a first barrier, at a place called 
Polasse, which was defended by a battery of a few pieces of 
cannon ; further on, at the distance of two hundred paces 
from this, stood a redoubt, furnished with a sufficient guard. 
The soldiers that composed it, being the greater part Cana- 
dians, on seeing the enemy approach, were seized with ter- 
ror, threw down their arms and fled. The battery itself was 
abandoned ; and if the Americans could have advanced with 
sufficient expedition, they would certainly have been masters 
of it : but in turning Cape Diamond, the foot of which is 
bathed by the waters of the river, they found the road inter- 
rupted by enormous masses of snow. Montgomery, with his 
own hands, endeavoured to open a path for his troops, who 

s2 



210 aXTEBEC— HISTORY, 

could only follow him man by man: and he was compelled to 
wait while they all assembled. At length, having collected 
about two hundred, whom he encouraged with his voice and 
example, he moved courageously and rapidly towards the 
barrier. In the meantime, a cannonier who had retreated 
from the battery, on seeing the enemy halt, returned to his 
post, and taking a match, which happened to be still burn- 
ing, fired a cannon charged with grape-shot ; the Americans 
were within forty paces. This single and almost accidental 
explosion totally extinguished the hopes they had conceived. 
Montgomery, as weU as Captains Macphei*son and Cheesman, 
both young men of singular merit, and dear to the general, 
were killed on the spot. 

While these events were occuring at this point. Colonel 
Arnold, at the head of about three hundred and fifty men, 
passed through St. Roques, and approached on his side near 
a two gun battery, without being discovered. This he at- 
tacked, and, though it was well defended, carried it ; but 
with considerable loss. In the attack, however, he received 
a wound, which made it necessary to carry him oif the field 
of battle. His party nevertheless continued the assault, and 
pushing on, made themselves masters of a second barrier: here 
these brave men sustained the force of the whole garrison, 
for three hours; but finding themselves hemmed in, and with- 
out hopes either of success, relief, or retreat, yielded at last 
to numbers, and the advantageous situation of their adversa- 
ries. 

The spot on which Montgomery fell is still pointed out, 
and his gallantry and nobleness of spirit are still remembered. 
While in his own country the intelligence of his death was 
received with feelings which that of scarcely any other man 
could have excited, it was his remarkable lot to receive at 
the same moment from its enemies the warmest eulogimns. 
" The most powerful speakers in the British Parliament, dis- 
played their eloquence in praising his virtues and lamenting 
his fate. A great orator, and veteran fellow-soldier of his in 
the preceding war, shed abundance of tears, whilst he expa- 
tiated on their past friendship, and participation of service 
in that season of enterprise and renown; and even the minis- 
ter extolled his glories.'* 

Sunt hic etiam sua praemia laudi 
Sunt hcTjmx rerum, et mentem mortalia tanguntc 



aXTEBEC^ — HISTORY. SJl 

Since this fatal conflict, Quebec has not been visited by 
an opposing" army, and may the day be long distant, when 
such heroes as Montgomery and Wolfe shall again expire be» 
neath its walls ! 



112 HOtJTE FSOM MO^TTBEAL TO ALBAKY 

MONTREAL TO ALBANY. 

M. M. 

Montreal to 

La Prairie .-.. = ^-... 6 

Half-Way House 8 14 

St. John's 8 22 

IsleauxNoix 10 32 

Rouss Point, and enter the United States 11 43 

Plattsburg 27 70 

Burlington 18 88 

Essex 14 102 

North-West Bay 10 112 

Crown Point 10 122 

Ticonderoga -..- 15 137 

Whitehall 23 160 

Fort Anne 12 172 

Kingsbury ..,-. 4 176 

Sandy Hill 5 181 

Cross Northern Canal 

Fort Edward --....--» 2 183 

Cross Moss Kill 3 186 

Fort Miller .-....-.-- 3 189 

Cross Hudson River 1 190 

Fish Creek 4 194 

Saratoga - 1 195 

Bemiss' Heights 6 201 

Stillwater 4 205 

Anthony's Kill 4 209 

Waterford 8 217 

Lansingburg 2 219 

Troy 4 223 

AiBAyx . = --. 6 229 



ST. LAWRENCE CHAMBLE— ST. JOHN's. 213 



From Montreal to Albany, 

On leaving Montreal for St. John's, we may cross over 
either to La Prairie, which is the most usual, or to L&ngudl^ 
the shortest passage. By both roads, the journey is an inter- 
esting one of about twenty miles, through a perfectly level 
country, fertile, well cultivated, considerably populous, and 
settled with very neat and comfortable white houses, con- 
structed in general of hewn logs. The barns, frequently of 
a large size, are usually built in the same manner ; but the 
want of good frame-work is very obvious in their frequently 
distorted appeai*ance. 

On the road from Longueil, we reach the river Sorel, at 
the town of St. Joseph, or Chamble, where it spreads into a 
considerable basin, adorned with several islets, and rushes 
over a rocky bottom, so as to form a pretty though not im« 
petuous rapid. These rocks are a flat secondary limestone, 
covered by slate. Just above the village, is an interesting 
remnant of the old French dominion. It is a square fort of 
stone, probably forty feet high, and two hundred feet on the 
ground, along each side : it has square towers, projecting 
from each of its angles, so that every approach to it could 
be completely enfiladed by three tiers of cannon. 

The French military works in these provinces are highly 
respectable, considering the immatiu'ity of the country when 
they were erected, ar.i the length of time that has elapsed 
since most oi them were constructed. The fort, or perhaps 
it might be more properly termed the castle, of Chamble, 
has the date of 1711, cut in the stone near the portcullisi 
This fortress was taken, as we have mentioned, in 1775, by 
General Montgomery, on his march to Quebec. 

Leaving Chamble, we pass on the right, the ground where 
the large encampment was formed during the last war, this 
being a great military station. The road then courses along 
the shore of the river for twelve miles, to St. John's. The 
country is beautiful and fertile, the population numerous, 
and the whole ride interesting. The cottages appear neat, 
comfortable and warm ; almost every moment, you meet 
cheerful looking peasants, driving their little carts fchar" 
rettesj drawn by horses of diminutive size, the men generally 



214 ISLE AUX SrOIX ROTTSs's point PLATTSBURG. 

standing" up in the cart, with their lig-hted pipes in their 
mouths, and red or blue sashes, and long conical woollen 
caps, of various colours. 

At St. John's, the traveller takes the steam-boat, in which 
he proceeds up the river. In ten miles, he reaches Isle aux 
Noixy a low island of about ninety acres, interesting* only as 
being important in time of war. The large barracks, the 
number of officers, the imposing appearance of ramparts and 
cannon, and the bustle of military activity, are strangely 
contrasted with the dai'k and gloomy forests which are spread 
around. 

Eleven miles above Isle aux Noix bring us to Rouss's 
Pointy the confluence of the river Sorel with Lake Cham- 
plain, and the boundary between Canada and the United 
States. On this promontoiy is a large and beautiful fort, 
erected by our government, and designed to command the 
communication between the river and lake. The commis- 
sioners who were appointed to ascertain the boundary line 
between the United States and Canada (settled by treaty to 
run in latitude 45°, from the state of Maine to the St. Law- 
rence) have found, by an astronomical survey, that this fort 
was a few poles on the British side of the line. 

Our passage is now up the lake, for twenty-seven miles, to 
Plattsburg. Our right is formed by the shore of New-York, 
presenting little else than wild mountains, clothed with native 
forests ; on the left, we occasionally see the shores of Ver- 
mont ; and at other times, it is bounded by the large islands 
which cluster in the northern part of the lake, the isle of 
Moiety the North Hero and the South Hero. Passing round 
Cumberland Heady a bold promontory, composed of flat strata 
of secondary limestone, we enter the bay of Plattsburg. 

Plattshurgy the capital of Clinton county, is situated at the 
mouth of Saranac river, in north latitude 44° 42', and 35' 
east longitude from the city of New-York ; one hundred and 
fifty-nine miles north of Albany ; ninety north of Whitehall ^ 
one hundred and twenty east of Ogdensburg, by the roads, 
and ninety-seven in a right line ; and thirteen north of Port 
Kent. It is an incorporated post village, and contains up- 
wards of three hundred houses, a bank, one church, the 
com't-house and jail, an academy, and a number of stores 
and manufactories. 



FiATTSBTJRG. 215 

This little town, and its pleasant bay, present a scene 
v/hich must ever be viewed by an American with the strong- 
est feeling's of delig-ht — that of a double conflict, in which a 
brave and well-appointed enemy was defeated at the same 
moment on land and water, by a small force, undisciplined, 
unprepared, and hastily collected. In 1814, the British de- 
termined to invade the country, on the same plan by which 
Burg-oyne had attempted it about forty years before. Sir 
George Prevost, with a large force, was to march along the 
shore and seize Plattsburg, while a flotiUa, under the com- 
mand of Captain Downie, consisting of several vessels, mount- 
ing ninety-five guns, and having on board upwards of one 
thousand men, sailed up the lake to co-operate with him. 

When it was known at the village that the enemy had 
crossed the frontier, the place was almost without defence. 
The scattered militia of the vicinity were immediately sum- 
moned, and all hastened to throw up fortifications, and to 
prepare a fleet to engage that of the enemy. The exertions 
made during this anxious period are almost incredible; night 
and day, the axe and the hammer were at work, and every 
one threw aside all business but that of preparing to receive 
the enemy. As soon as the report of the invasion spread 
through the country, the peasantry, with their rifles or ruder 
implements, poured down from the mountains and forests, 
eager to join the little band of soldiers who had already col- 
lected at the town — every employment was deserted, eveiy 
age was disregarded — the moment demanded exertion, and 
it was not wanting. 

From the gray sire, whose trembling hand 
Could scarcely buckle on his brand. 
To the raw boy, whose shaft and bow 
Were yet scarce terror to the crow. 
Each valley, each sequester'd glen, 
Muster'd its httle horde of men. 
That met, as torrents from the height 
In highland dale their streams unite; 
Still gathering, as they pour along, 
A voice more loud, a tide more strong. 

The fleet was equipped with equal rapidity, and moored 
in a line across the bay, ready to receive the enemy. It con- 
sisted of a few vessels, mounting only eighty -six guns, and 



216 BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG. 






manned by eig-ht hundred men, with the g-allant M'Donougli 
in command. Such was the haste of preparation, that one 
of the vessels which then entered into action had been built 
and equipped in the space of a fortnight : eighteen days 
previous to the engagement, the timber of which it was 
constructed had been actually growing in the forest upon 
the shores of the lake. 

At eight o'clock in the morning of the 11th September, 
1814, the British flotilla passed Cumberland Head, and at 
nine engaged our flotilla at anchor in the bay off the town, 
fully confident of an easy triumph ; but the gallant M'Do- 
nough, in the short space of two hours, compelled the large 
vessels to sti'ike their colours, whilst the galleys saved them- 
selves by flight. This glorious achievement was in full view 
of the works, that had been hastily thrown up on the shore 
by the American forces, who had thus the satisfaction of wit- 
nessing the victory. The British army was also so posted 
on the surrounding heights, that it could not but behold the 
interesting struggle for dominion on the lake. At the same 
hour in which the fleets engaged, the enemy opened their 
batteries on our forts, throwing hundreds of shells, balls and 
rockets; and attempted at the same time to cross the Saranac 
at three diflferent points, to assault the works : at the upper 
ford, they were met by the militia and volunteers, and after 
repeated attempts were driven back with considerable loss 
in killed, wounded and prisoners. The enemy's fire was 
returned with effect from the American batteries ; and by 
sunset, they had silenced seven which had been erected by 
the British, and saw their columns retiring to their camps, 
beyond the reach of their guns. Thus beaten by land and 
water, the governor-general withdrev/ his artillery, and raised 
the siege. At nine o'clock at night, he sent oft" his heavy 
baggage, and under cover of the darkness retreated with his 
whole array towards Canada, leaving his wounded on the 
field, together with a vast quantity of bread, flour and beef, 
which he had not time to destroy, besides bomb-shells, shot, 
flints, and ammunition of all kinds, which remained at the 
batteries, and lay concealed in the ponds and rivers. 

From Plattsburg we cross the lake, in a south-east direc- 
tion, eighteen miles, to Burlington, in Vermont. In the 
passage, we leave on the right the little islands of St. Michel 
and Valcour^ and on the left Colchester Point, a long penin- 



BUHLINGTOSr VERMONT TTIflVERSITT — ESSEX. 217 

-ula of marshy ground, forming- the northern shore of Onion 
river, and extending far into the lake. We also pass the 
spot at wliich the steam-boat Phoenix was burned, a few years 
since, when the captain and crew displayed so much prudence 
and magnanimity. 

Burlington is a port of entry, and the capital of Chittenden 
county, Vermont, lying on the margin of the lake, and ex- 
tending back nearly a mile. Its population is about two 
thousand two hundi-ed. It contains a court-house, a jail, a 
bank, two printing-offices, an academy, a university, and 
two handsome Congregational meeting-houses, one of which 
is a fine brick building. A mile and a half from the centre of 
the village, there is another village, of about thirty houses, 
at the falls of Onion River. These falls afford conveniences 
for extensive manufacturing establishments. This town is of 
more commercial importance than any other in Vermont. 
About ten sloops, from seventy to one hundred tons, which 
navigate the lake, are owned here. Two weekly newspapers 
are published at this place. 

The university of Vermont was incorporated in 1791. The 
college edifice is a spacious and elegant brick building, four 
stories high, one hundred and sixty feet long, seventy-five 
wide in the central part, and forty -five on the wings, contain- 
ing a chapel, seven rooms for public uses, and forty-six for 
students. It is finely situated, on the east of the village, one 
mile distant from Lake Champlain, on an elevation, accord- 
ing to Captain Partridge, of two hundred and forty-five feet 
above the surface of the water, and commands an extensive 
and delightful prospect of the lake, with its islands, the high 
mountains along the western shore, and the surrounding 
country. The library contains eight or nine hundred volumes, 
and the philosophical apparatus is tolerably complete. The 
funds of the institution consist chiefly of lands, amounting to 
about thirty thousand acres, of which only about six thousand 
four hundred are as yet leased. 

From Burlington, it is fourteen miles to Essex, a village 
on the western shore of the lake, containing about forty 
houses, and pleasantly seated on the mai'gin of the water. 
The county of the same name, which here extends along 
the western shore, is celebrated as being the most extensive 
iron region in the state of New- York. Its general surface is 
elevated, some of its mountains rising to the height of twelve 
T 



218 SPLIT HOCK CROWN POINT. 

hundred feet ; but the flat and smooth champains along- the 
lake, and its deep valleys, g-ive it an aspect of mixed scenery, 
wild, grand, and sublimely picturesque. The forest trees 
are of a lofty gi'owth, embracing white and black oak, white 
and yellow pine, maple, beech, walnut, butternut, birch, 
ash, elm, basswood, cherry, fir, spruce, hemlock, &c. The 
woods afford a great variety of wild game, and the waters 
are richly stored with fish. The countiy is abundantly sup- 
plied with springs and rivulets of pure and wholesome water, 
is generally very healthy, and has also a large number of 
mill-streams, falls, rapids, and natmal sites for hydraulic 
works. The iron ores of this region are of uncommon rich- 
ness, yielding iron of the verj' best quality, though hitherto 
wrought under many disadvantages, incident to small busi- 
ness in a country comparatively new, and wanting capital. 
Asbestos is found in the township of Moiiah, and supposed 
indications of mineral coal, while an ore has been discovered 
in the northern part, yielding a little copper. Emery and 
tabular spar are said to have been also discovered in this 
county. 

There is a feny from Essex across the lake to Charlotie 
village, in Vermont. Soon after leaving it, we pass the cele- 
brated Split JRock, course along through the NarrowHy and 
in twenty miles reach Crown Point. 

This celebrated fortress is seated on the northern extremi- 
ty of a long peninsula, formed by a bay running up on the 
western shore of the lake, above which it is elevated about 
fifty feet. It was first erected by the French in 1731, and 
called Fort St. Frederick, and afterwards, with Ticonderoga, 
became the theatre of many military exploits. The walls 
were of wood and earth, twenty-two feet thick, and sixteen 
high. It was about sixteen hundred yai'ds square, and sur- 
rounded by a deep and broad ditch, cut in a solid granite 
rock, with immense labour. On the north is a double row 
of sti'ong stone barracks, still standing, though somewhat 
in decay, and large enough to contain two thousand troops. 
On the northern side, are a gate, a strong drawbridge, and a 
covered way to the water of the lake. The whole are now 
in ruins ; and the outworks, which were extensive, are little 
else than heaps of rubbish, barely sufficient to revive remem- 
brance. 



ticoxdehoga. 219 

From Crown Point to Ticonderoga, is a distance of twelve 
miles, throug-li a very narrow strait. This, once perhaps 
next to Quebec the most celebrated fortified post in North 
America, is now only a mass of ruins, though many of the 
walls are sufficiently entire to exhibit proofs of the excellence 
of their construction, and of the plan of the works. It was 
built by the French, in 1756, on a point of land formed by 
the junction of Lake George outlet with Lake Champlain. 
It is above tide-water one hundred and ninety-six feet. It is 
said, that its name is derived from the Indian word Che-on- 
der-ogOy signifying" noisy, probably in allusion to the water: 
the French, however, called it Fort Carrillon. It was a place 
of great strength, both by nature and art. On three sides 
it is surrounded by water, about half of the other side is 
occupied by a deep swamp, and the line of defence was 
completed by the French, by the erection of a breastwork 
nine feet high, on the only assailable ground. 

Mount Defiance, immediately on the outlet of Lake George, 
is six hundred feet above the fort, and completely commands 
it; and Mount Independence, often mentioned in connection 
with it, is on the east side of the lake, about two miles dis- 
tant. 

As we pass by the mouldering ruins of the numerous for- 
tresses which are scattered over this district, a thousand his- 
torical recollections break in upon our thoughts, and combine 
to fix our attention upon spots that have already become the 
classic antiquities of our country. Tliey were for the most 
part erected by the French, in the early part of the last cen- 
tury ; and from them issued those ferocious incursions, in 
which, joining with the savage Indians, they attacked the 
defenceless border settlements of the British provinces. 
From these causes, it became an object of vital interest to 
drive the French from these strongholds, and several expe- 
ditions were planned or undertaken with that object. That 
of Sir William Johnston, in 1755, though the enem}^ were 
defeated and the commander in chief killed, was not attend^ 
ed, as will be recollected, with success in its main object. 

In 1758, another expedition was undertaken against Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point. On the 5th of July, General 
Abercrombie embarked on Lake George with sixteen thou- 
sand troops, landed at its foot without opposition, and com- 
menced his march towards the fortress. As the country 



220 ncOKDEROOA. 

through which their march lay is difficult and woody, aiid 
the guides who conducted them were extremely unskilful, 
the teoops became bewildered, the columns broke, and fell 
in upon one another. In tliis situation they were attacked 
by the French, and a paitj'^ was defeated, with the loss of 
three hundred killed, and one hundred and fifty prisoners. 
At the first fire. Lord Howe, the pride and hope of the 
army, fell mortally wounded. The first to encounter dan- 
ger, to endure hunger, to support fatigue ; rigid in his 
discipline, but easy in his manners, his officers and soldiers 
readily obeyed the commander, because they loved the 
man; and now, at the moment when such abihties and 
such an example were most wanted, was fatally lost a life 
which was long enough for his honour, but not for his 
country. 

Notwithstanding this loss however. General Abercrombie 
proceeded and took post near Ticonderoga. Under the 
impression of false intelligence, an assault was resolved upon, 
and took place on the 8th of July ; but the French were so 
well covered by an abattis, and a breastwork eight feet high, 
that the British troops were unable to carry the works. After 
an unavailing contest of four hours, and the loss of one thou- 
sand eight hundred of the assailants, a retreat was ordei«ed. 
Abercrombie rehnquished for the present all designs against 
Ticonderoga, and on the evening of the following day re- 
turned to his camp at the southern end of Lake George. 
Such is the uncertainty of military operations ! Four days 
before, the finest army that had then been assembled in 
America embarked on Lake George, with all the splendour 
of military parade : the morning had been remarkably bright 
and beautiful, and the fleet moved with exact regularity to 
the sound of martial music — the ensigns waved and glittered 
in the sun-beams, and the anticipation of expected triumph 
shone in every eye. They now returned, defeated and dis- 
heartened — ^the noblest of their leaders killed in a petty 
skirmish, the object of their hopes unaccomplished, and all 
the visions of anticipated glory, which had animated so many 
breasts, destroyed perhaps for ever. 

The campaign of the succeeding year, though not com- 
menced with the sanguine prospects of the last, was attend- 
ed with more success. In the plan for the operations of 1759, 
as w^e have before mentioned, it was determined that General 



TICONDEIlOaA. 221 

Amherst should march from the provmces, and attack these 
fortresses. He proceeded according'ly, but, contrary to what 
mig'ht have been expected, he found that the French had 
abandoned Ticonderog-a and Crown Point, and retreated into 
Canada. He immediately took possession of them ; and at 
the treaty of peace, they were, with the rest of the French 
possessions in this part of Ameiica, finally ceded to Great 
Britain. 

Nearly twenty years had passed away, and the fortresses 
of Ticonderog-a and Crown Point were almost forg-otten, 
when a conflict of a different kind arose, and made them the 
scenes of new exploits. They were the first posts which 
were caiTied by the continental arms, in the war of indepen- 
dence. On the 10th of May, 1775, Colonel Ethan Allen, at 
the head of a small troop of volunteers, whom he had col- 
lected chiefly among the mountains of Vermont, and not 
much exceeding two hundred in number, surprised the garri- 
son of Ticonderoga in the dead of night, and summoned it 
to surrender. *'In whose name?" asked the astonished and 
irritated commander : "In the name of the great Jehovah 
and the Continental Congress!" replied the intrepid patriot. 
The capture of Crown Point soon followed ; and without the 
loss of a man, our gallant countrymen obtained possession of 
these keys of the north. They found in the forts upwards 
of two hundred pieces of cannon, besides some mortars, how- 
itzers, and a quantity of various stores, which were to them 
highly valuable. They also captured two vessels, which 
g-ave them the command of Lake Champlain, and materials 
prepared at Ticonderoga for building and equipping others. 
The Americans retained possession of these posts till July, 
1777, when they were evacuated on the approach of General 
Burgoyne with the British army. 

At an early period of the revolution, the British ministers 
had formed the plan of opening a way to New-York, by 
means of an army which should descend from the lakes to 
the banks of the Hudson, and unite in the vicinity of Albany, 
with the whole or a part of that commanded by General 
Howe. All intercourse would thus have been cut off be- 
tween the eastern and western provinces, and it was believed 
that the triumph of the British arms from that moment could 
no longer be doubtful. 

t2 



222 BUllGOTHE S EXPEDITION. 

An army amounting to about ten thousand men was ac- 
cording-ly assembled at the river Bouquet, on the west side 
of Lake Champlain, the command of which was intrusted to 
Lieutenant-General Burg-oyne, an officer whose abihty was 
unquestioned, and whose spirit of enterprise, and thirst for 
military glory, however rivalled, could not possibly be ex- 
•ceeded. He was assisted by Brigadier-Generals Frazer, Pow- 
el and Hamilton, all distinguished officers, with the Bruns- 
wick Major-General Baron Reidesel and Brigadier-General 
Specht. The army was in every respect in the best condi- 
tion that could possibly be expected or wished, the troops 
being in the highest spirits, admirably disciplined, and un- 
commonly healthy. The general published a proclamation, 
in which he denounced in the severest terms the rebellious 
colonists; invoked upon them all the harshest cruelties of In- 
dian warfare; displayed, in full, lofty and expressive language, 
the force of that great power which was now spread by sea 
and land, to embrace or to crush every part of America; and 
denounced, an'ayed in their most terrific forms, all the cala- 
mities of war against those who persevered in their hostility. 
Having completed his preliminary arrangements, General 
Burgoyne commenced his march. xU Crown Point, which had 
been evacuated, he stopped a short time, for the establish- 
ment of magazines, an hospital, and other necessary services, 
and then proceeded with all his troops to invest Ticon- 
deroga. The right wing took the western shore, the left 
advanced upon the eastern, and the centre was embarketl 
upon the lake itself. The reduction of this post, without 
which it was impossible for the invading army to advance a 
step beyond it, was of course the first object of its operations. 
The Americans reposed great hopes in this fortress, consi- 
dering it as the barrier against invasion from the north. Its 
defence was intrusted to General St. Clair, with a gan-ison of 
three thousand men, one-third of whom were militia from 
the northern provinces : but they were badly equipped, and 
worse ai-med, particularly in the article of bayonets, a weapon 
so essential to the defence of the lines, not having one to ten 
of their number. On the 2d of July, the fort was invested 
by the British ; and they were not long in observing the im- 
portance of erecting a battery on Mount Defiance : with infi- 
nite labour, therefore, cannon were dragged to its summit, 
and on the 5th every thing was prepared for a general assault. 



EVACUATION OP TICONDEBOGA. 223 

Under these circumstances, a hasty consultation was held by 
the American officers : it was represented that their whole 
effective number was not sufficient to man one-half of the 
works, that the enemy's batteries were ready to open, and 
that nothing- could save the garrison but an immediate eva- 
cuation of the post. This determination was unanimously 
agreed to by the council, and the place was accordingly 
deserted on that night. The baggage, artillery and stores, 
were embarked with a strong detachment on boai'd of two 
hundred batteaux, and despatched, under convoy of five 
armed galleys, up the South river, on their way to Skenes- 
borough. The main army took its route by Castletown, to 
reach the same place by land. 

As soon as the British discovered the retreat of the Ame- 
ricans, they commenced the pursuit. General Frazer, at the 
head of a strong body of grenadiers and light troops, fol- 
lowed them with great rapidity by land, upon the right 
bank of Wood creek. General Reidesel, behind him, eager- 
ly advanced with his Brunswickers, either to support the 
English, or to act separately, as occasion might require. 
General Burgoyne determined to pursue them by water. 
By three o'clock in the afternoon, the van of the British 
squadron, composed of gun-boats, came up with and attack- 
ed the American galleys, near Skenesborough falls. Two of 
them surrendered, and three of them were blown up. The 
Americans now abandoned all hopes of successful defence ; 
having set fire to their works, mills and batteaux, and other- 
wise destroyed what they were unable to burn, they escaped 
as well as they could up Wood creek, without halting till 
they reached Fort Anne. 

The corps which had set out by land was in no better situ- 
ation. The vanguard, conducted by St. Clair, had arrived at 
Castletown, thirty miles distant from Ticonderoga, and twelve 
from Skenesborough. The rear, commanded by Colonels 
Francis and Warner, had rested, on the night of the 6th, at 
Hubbardston, six miles below Castletown, towai'ds Ticon- 
deroga. At five o'clock in the morning of the 7th, the 
English column under General Frazer made its appearance, 
and a battle immediately ensued. It was long and sanguina- 
ry; the Americans, being commanded by valiant officers, 
behaved with gi'eat spirit and firmness ; but the English dis- 
played equal obstinacy. At this critical moment. General 



224 BATTLE or HUBBAHDSTON — WHITEHALL. 

Reidesel arrived at the head of his column, composed of some 
light troops and grenadiers, and immediately took part in 
the action. The Americans, overpowered by numbers, fled 
on all sides, leaving their brave commander, with many other 
officers, and upwards of two hundred soldiers, dead on the 
field. General St. Clair, upon intelligence of this discomfiture 
and that of the disaster at Skenesborough, which was brought 
to him at the same time by an officer of one of the galleys, 
apprehending that he should be interrupted if he proceeded 
towards Fort Anne, collected the fugitives and marched to 
Fort Edward, in order to unite with General Schuyler. 

From Ticonderoga to Skenesborough or Whitehall is 
twenty-three miles. The gpreater part of the way, indeed, the 
lake is nothing more than a narrow slugglish river, without 
apparent motion, among high rocky and mountainous ridges, 
between whose feet and the lake, there is generally a con- 
siderable extent of low, wet, marshy ground, of a most un- 
])romising appearance, for any purpose but to produce fever 
and ague. The channel is, for miles, so naiTow, that the 
steam-boat can scarcely put about in it, and there seems 
hardly room for the passage of the little sloops, which are 
frequently met coming from Whitehall. At the very head 
of this natural canal, lie the wrecks of the flotillas of M'Do- 
nough and Downie, now, by the catastrophe of battle, united 
into one. 

The most interesting object on the passage, is the double 
bamer of mountains extencfing along on either hand. It seems 
as if the lake had been poured into the only natural basin, of 
any magnitude, which exists in this mountainous region, and 
as if its boundaries were irrevocably fixed, by the impassable 
barriers of rocks and Alpine land. The mountains, par- 
ticularly on the eastern side, presenting to the eye their na- 
ked precipitous cliflfs, composed of the edges of the strata, 
are gneiss at Whitehall and limestone towards Ticonderoga. 
From Lake George to Lake Champlain, they are primitive. 
At Whitehall, the rocks have a very beautiful stratification ; 
the hills appear as if cracked in two, and one part being re- 
moved, we have a fine vertical section ; both their horizontal 
and perpendicular divisions, resemble a regular piece of ma- 
sonry, and this is the prevailing fact all along the lake. 

The village of WhiteJiall contains about one hundred 
houses i it is situated on a low piece of ground, at the head 



FORT ANNE — BAKER's FALLS. 225 

of the navigation of Lake Champlain. Steam navigation on 
this lake, and the opening of the Northern canal, have given 
it a rajjid increase of business. Many good buildings are 
erected, and it seems likely to become a trading place of no 
mean impoiliance. The canal enters the lake at the village. 

From Whitehall to Fort Anne, twelve miles, the road pass- 
es in a south-west direction, with the Champlain canal on 
the left hand aU the way; for the last seven miles it is formed 
along the bed of Wood Creek. The rocks which ai-e seen 
on the road are immense strata of gneiss, often so full of 
garnets, that at a distance the ledges appear spotted with 
red and brown. 

Just before we enter the village of Fort Anne, is a narrow 
pass between some high rocks and Wood creek, ^vhere, on 
the 8th of July 1777, the ninth British regiment, belonging to 
General Burgoyne's army, sustained a heavy loss, by a con- 
flict with the Americans under Colonel Long. After the sur- 
render of Ticonderoga, General Burgoyne endeavoured to 
keep up the alarm, by spreading his parties over the coun- 
try. With this view. Colonel Hill, at the head of the ninth 
regiment, was despatched after Colonel Long, who, with four 
or five hundred men, principally the invalids and convales- 
cents of the army, had taken post at Fort Anne, and was di- 
rected by General Schuyler to defend it. Colonel Long, with 
his party, did not wait an attack from the enemy, but boldly 
advanced to meet them. For two hours they continued the 
attack, with gTeat gallantry, when at length the British hav- 
ing received a reinforcement of Indians, and our ammunition 
being expended. Colonel Long was forced to retreat.. 

From Fort Anne to Sandy Hill, the next stage, is nine 
miles, passing through the little village of Kingsbury. Sandy 
Hill is a village containing about four hundred inhabitants, 
seated on the margin of the Hudson, immediately above Ba^ 
ker's Falls, on a high precipitous bank, and enjoys a pure 
air, with a delightful prospect of variegated scenery. The 
head of these falls commences just at the great bend of the 
river, where it turns south, and the whole descent is seven- 
ty-six feet, within sixty rods. There is no perpendicular 
cataract, but the water winds in various irregular serpentine 
courses, evidently worn in the rock, and descends with vast 
rapidity. Here, as also at Glenn's Falls, are mills erected, 
which give a pleasing variety to the whole scenery. The 



226 FORT EDWARD — Wli» M*CREA. 

transition and secondary formations are said to form a junc- 
tion at this place. Slaty rocks compose the banks of the 
river, and are seen lying beneath the water ; and when the 
latter is tranquil, a beautiful sight is presented by the veins 
of wliite calcareous spar, which, in great numbers, intersect 
the black slate rocks, and give them a tesselated appearance, 
rendered more brilliant by the refractive effect of the water, 
through which they are seen. Several persons have been 
precipitated over the falls, and met with instant death. Two 
men were in a boat, above the mill-dam, and venturing a 
little too far, were drawn irretrievably into the rapid waters ; 
as the boat passed over the dam, one of the men caught upon 
it, and stood braced, till a plank, secured by a rope, was 
floated down to him, and he was thus extricated from his 
dangerous situation ; but his companion went over the dam, 
and was lost. Another man, in a boat, was impelled into the 
current, and finding his case hopeless, calmly shipped his 
oars, and submitted to his fate. 

At Sandy Hill, the traveller may cross the Hudson and 
proceed by a direct route to Saratoga Springs, and thence to 
Albany. The usual road however continues along the east- 
ern shore of the river, and in two miles brings us to Fort Ed- 
ward, a village with about two hundred and fifty inhabitants 
and considerable trade. 

Not far fi-om the village, the traveller will see a little 
spring, which flows limpid and cool from a bank near the 
road-side, while above it rises an old tree, whose branches 
have nearly all been torn away by the tempests of many 
years. On its bark he will see the words ** Jane M'Crea 
1777" — and he will not pass it without dropping a tear as 
he contemplates the untimely fate of youthful loveliness. 
Her tragic tale is short and simple. The daughter of a re- 
spectable man who resided in the neighbourhood, she had 
unfortunately yielded her affections to an officer in the Brit- 
ish army. As General Burgoyne pursued his march from the 
north, the Americans retreated before it and left Fort Edward. 
With the imprudence of her sex and age, increased perhaps 
by the hope of thus more easily meeting her lover, she lin- 
gered behind her countrymen, and remained at the fort. In 
the meantime, the young soldier, anxious to behold his des- 
tined bride, but probably unable to leave his corps at the 
moment, despatched, and it was an act of unpardonable rash- 



MISS m'crea. 227 

ness, a party of Indians, in whom he believed implicit reli- 
ance might be placed, to bear her to the British camp. Why 
he did not go for her himself, or why at least he did not ac- 
company his savage emissaries, is unknown ; the fatal event 
too sadly proved how vainly he had reposed his confidence. 
Sorely against the wishes and remonstrances of her friends, 
did the unthinking girl commit herself to the care of these 
fiends, and mounting her horse, she rode by their side until 
they arrived at this little spring, where they halted for a mo- 
ment to drink. As they were resting here, another party of 
Indians arrived. Different accounts are given of their object; 
by some it is said, that they were despatched by the impa- 
tient lover to hasten the former party, with whom they im- 
mediately quarrelled for the office of conducting the maiden 
to tlie camp ; by others, and perhaps with more probability, 
we are told, that they were a band of ferocious savages, who 
had been oveiTunning the surroimding country, and deter- 
mined to seize the prey which now offered, for themselves. 
Whichever may have been the case, scarcely had they met 
when a bloody conflict arose, the innocent girl perished by 
the tomahawk of one of these inhuman monsters ; and, with 
the very acme of horror, when the expecting lover rushed 
to meet the expected object of his affection, the murderers 
presented him with her scalp. He survived but to indulge 
feelings that no time could assuage, and at length died be- 
neath their influence. The recital of this deed of atrocity filled 
every breast, as well in Europe as America, with horror, and 
has stamped a lasting infamy upon those who called to theh' 
aid these uncivilized barbarians, and who affected to believe 
that the laws of their country prohibited their punishment. 

About a mile and a half above the village of Fort Edward, a 
feeder is earned from the Hudson river, half a mile in length, 
by means of a dam across that stream, nine hundred feet 
long, and twenty-seven feet of average height, which throws 
back an ample supply of water for the summit-level above 
described, of twelve miles : at Fort Edward there are three 
locks, which let down the canal thirty feet, into the Hudson, 
in which the navigation is thence continued to Fort Miller^ 
eight miles, by means of a dam at the head of Fort Miller 
falls. 

In describing the advance of General Burgoyne, we left 
him at Whitehall, from whence he effected his passage to Fort 



228 burgotne'« expeditioit. 

Edward with extreme difficulty, after several weeks of severe 
labour, and the battle we have mentioned at Fort Anne. In 
the meantime. General Schuyler, in consequence of General 
Burgoyne's halting nearly three weeks at Skenesborough, 
had time to throw very formidable obstructions in his way. 
lie placed innumerable trees in Wood creek, and across the 
roads by Fort Anne ; he demolished bridges, and by every 
other means in his power so impeded his march, that the 
British army did not arrive at Fort Edward, on the Hudson, 
till the 30th of July. 

Crossing that river below Fort Ikliller, the road leads us 
along the western shore, tlirough Saratoga county, and pass- 
ing the villages of Fish Creek, Saratoga and Bemiss' Heights, 
sixteen miles, to Siillwater. There is nothing to require par- 
ticular notice except the historical reminiscences which ai*ise. 
Along the river, the alluvial flats are principally a stiflT argil- 
laceous loam, and the river hills have the same kind of soil, 
more or less mixed with sand or gravel. The timber on these 
lands is oak, hickory, chesnut, &c. ; on the loamy plains, 
beech, maple, ash, elm and butternut; and on the sandy loam, 
white and yellow pine. 

On the 'l3th and 14th of September, General Burgoyne 
passed the Hudson river, on a bridge of boats, not far from 
Fort Miller, and proceeded, without any material opposition, 
to Saratoga and Stillwater, till, on the 17th, his advanced 
guard was within four miles of the American army, which, 
emboldened by an advantage gained at Bennington, and 
strengthened in stores and men, was advancing to meet him. 
On the 18th, the fronts of the two armies were almost in con- 
tact, and some skirmishing ensued, but without causing a 
general engagement. 

On the following day, about twelve o'clock, the first battle 
commenced, at a place called Freeman^s Farm, a short dis- 
tance below the village of Bemiss' Heights ; the spot is still 
pointed out, about two miles to the west of the river. A great 
part of the ground is covered by lofty forest trees, principally 
pine, with a few cleared fields scattered about ; many of the 
trees yet record the bloody scenes of former days ; they still 
show the wounds made in their trunks and branches, by the 
missiles of contending armies ; their roots still penetrate the 
soil, that was made fruitful by the blood of the brave, and 
their sombre foliae-e still murmurs v/ith the breeze, which 



BATTLE AT FREEMAN's FARM. 229 

once bore along the sighs of departing spints. The ac- 
tion was continued with great bravery, on both sides, until 
night ; when each army returned to its respective camp, and 
retained the same position it held before the commencement 
of the battle. This circumstance however was almost as in- 
jurious to the British as a defeat ; cut off from all sources of 
supply, it had become absolutely necessary that they should 
force their march to the south at all hazards. For several 
days, each army kept its ground with great anxiety ? it was 
evident that the crisis was arrived, when the fate of this cam- 
paign must be decided. **Not a night passed," says General 
Burgoyne, " without firing, and sometimes concerted attacks 
upon our pickets^ no foraging party could be made, without 
great detachments to cover it. By being habituated to fire, 
our soldiers became indifferent to it, and were capable of 
eating or sleeping when it was very near them 5 but I do not 
believe that either officer or soldier ever slept, during that 
interval, without his clothes, or that any general officer, or 
commander of a regiment, passed a single night without be- 
ing upon his legs occasionally, at different hours, and con- 
stantly an hour before day light." 

At length the British commander determined to attempt 
a decisive stroke. On the 7th of October he put himself at 
the head of a detachment of fifteen hundred regular troops, 
with two tv^elve-pounders, two howitzers, and six six-pound- 
ers. He was seconded by Generals Phillips, Reidesel, and 
Frazer, all officers distinguished for their zeal and ability. As 
soon as the advance of the British was perceived. General 
Gates lost no time in leading out his troops, who advanced to 
the charge with great impetuosity. The battle continued 
through the day, and both parties suffered under a severe 
fire ; General Frazer fell, mortally wounded, at the head of 
his division, and Colonel Breyman was killed while leading 
on the German troops ; this corps was nearly cut to pieces, 
and forced to retreat in the most precipitate manner, leaving 
the British encampment on the right entirely unprotected, 
and liable to be assailed the next morning. All the British 
officers bear testimony to the valour and obstinacy of the 
attack of the Americans. The fact v/as, the British were sore- 
ly defeated, routed and vigorously pursued to their lines, 
which, it seems probable, would have been entirely carried 
bv assaultj had not darkness, as in the battle of the 19th, put 

TT 



230 btirgoyne's expeditiost. 

an end to the sanguinary contest. It is obvious, from General 
Burgoyne's own account, and from the testimony of his offi- 
cers, that this was a severe defeat ; and such a one as has 
rarely been experienced by a British army ; the troops were 
reduced by it to the greatest distress, and nothing but night 
saved them from destruction. 

Among the many prisoners taken on this fatal day, were 
Sir Francis Clarke, first aid-de-camp of General Burgoyne ; 
Major Ackland, commander of grenadiers ; Major Williams, 
commander of artillery, and many other distinguished officers. 
General Wilkinson, who was present during this campaign, 
and engaged in the different battles, has recorded, in his own 
memoirs, many interesting anecdotes relative to it. Among 
others, he mentions several passages of the last moments of 
Sir Francis Clarke, who discussed with General Gates, as he 
lay mortally wounded in his house, the merits of the revolu- 
tion, and awaited his fate with manly composure. It was 
General Wilkinson's good fortune also, to save the hfe of the 
gallant Ackland, at the moment when a soldier had aimed his 
musket at him, as he lay against a fence wounded in both 
legs. 

Farm houses are dispersed here and there, over the field 
of battle, and the people often find, even now, gun-barrels 
and bayonets, cannon balls, grape-shot, bullets and human 
bones. Such are the memorials still existing, of these great 
military events 5 great, not so much on account of the num- 
bers of the actors^ as from the momentous interests at stake, 
and from the magnanimous eftbrtsto which they gave origin. 

The night of the 7th of October was a most critical one for 
the royal army? in the course of it they abandoned their 
camp, changed their whole position, and retreated to their 
works upon the heights, contiguous to the river, and imme- 
diately behind the hospital. 

On the 8th the British were employed in burying their 
dead. General Frazer, when dying, had sent, with the kind- 
est expression of his affection for General Burgoyne, a re- 
quest that he might be carried without parade, by the soldiers 
of his corps, to tiie great redoubt, and buried there. The 
body, attended by the commander in cliief and the other 
principal officers of the army, who could not resist the im- 
pulse to join the procession, moved, winding slowly up the 



FUJTERAt OF GENERAL FRAZER. 231 

iiill, within view of the greater part of both armies, while an 
incessant cannonade from the Americans, who observed a 
collection of people, without knowing the occasion, covered 
the procession with dust. The clergyman, the Rev. Mr. 
Brudenel, went through the funeral service with perfect 
composure and propriety, notwithstanding the cannonade, 
and thus the last honours were paid to one of the chiefs of the 
British army. The Baroness Reidesel, who was a spectator, 
says that tlie funeral service was rendered unusually solemn 
and awful, from its being accompanied by constant peals from 
the enemy's artillery ; '* many cannon balls," she adds, " flew 
close by me, but T had my eyes directed to the mountain, 
where my husband was, standing amidst the fire of the enemy, 
and of course I could not think of my own danger." General 
Burgoyne's eloquent delineation of the same scene, although 
often quoted before by others, is too interesting to be omit- 
ted in a work like this. ** The incessant cannonade, during 
the solemnity ; the steady attitude and unaltered voice with 
which the clergyman officiated, though frequently covered 
with dust, which the shot threw up on all sides around him ; 
the mute but expressive mixture of sensibility and indigna- 
tion upon every countenance ; these objects will remain, to 
the last of life, upon the mind of every man who was pre- 
sent. The growing duskiness added to the scenery, and the 
whole marked a character of that juncture, that would make 
one of the finest subjects for the pencil of a master, that the 
field ever exhibited. To the canvass, and to the page of a 
more important historian, gallant friend! I consign thy memo- 
ry. There may thy talents, thy manly virtues, their progress, 
and their period, find due distinction, and long may they sur- 
vive; long after the frail record of my pen shall be forgotten." 
About nine o'clock this evening the British army com- 
menced a retreat, pursuing the river road through the mea- 
dows. It moved all night ; but the succeeding day was ex- 
cessively rainy, and the roads so bad, that they did not reach 
Saratoga, a distance of only six miles, tOl the evening of the 
9th. The rains had so swelled the Fishkill, that they did 
not pass that rivulet till the morning of the 10th, when, find- 
ing their enemies already in possession of the fords of the 
Hudson, they took up a strong position, which proved their 
final one. 



532 BURGOTNe's EXPEBITIOK. 

At this period, an anecdote is recorded by General Wil- 
kinson, which presents so beautiful a picture of fortitude, 
resig-nation and affection, that it must not be omitted. Lady 
Harriet Ackland had accompanied her husband through all 
the dangers and hardships of this campaign ; separated from 
him at length by his capture, she obtained from General 
Burgoyne, permission to seek the American camp, and join 
the prisoner. About ten o* clock in the evening, a sentinel on 
the shore of the river saw a boat approaching; and finding 
that it contained this noble woman, who had brought a letter 
from General Burgoyne to General Gates, she was received 
with eveiy attention ; during the night, she reposed in the 
cabin of one of the officers, and early in the morning was 
conveyed to the head quarters of the army. *' General Gates," 
says Colonel Wilkinson, *' stood ready to receive her, with all 
the tenderness and respect to which her rank and condition 
gave her a claim : indeed the feminine figure, the benign as- 
pect, and polished manners of this charming woman, were 
alone sufficient to attract the sympathy of the most obdurate; 
but if another motive could have been wanting to inspire re- 
spect, it was furnished by the peculiar circumstances of Lady 
Harriet, tlien in that most dehcate situation, which cannot 
fail to interest the solicitudes of every being possessing th6 
form and feelings of a man. Every kindness and attention 
was paid to her, and she was safely conveyed to her husband, 
who had gone to Albany.'* 

Six days more of anxiety, fatigue and suffering, remained 
for the British army. They had lost part of the batteaux that 
carried their supplies, when they abandoned the hospital, and 
the rest being exposed to imminent danger, the small stock 
of provisions remaining was landed under a heavy fire, and 
hauled up the heights. The account which the Baroness 
Reidesel gives of their sufferings is indeed dreadful. This no- 
ble woman, like Lady Ackland, had accompanied her hus- 
band through the campaign, and General Wilkinson has pre- 
served the journal in which she recorded its gloomy history. 
** The constant danger my husband was in," she writes, " kept 
me in a state of wretchedness, and I asked myself if it was 
possible I should be the only happy one, and have my hus- 
band spared to me unhurt, exposed as he was to so many 
perils. He never entered his tent, but laid down whole 



SAHOJTESS BEIDESEL's NARRATlVli. 233 

flights by the watch-fires ; this alone was enough to have 
kiUed him, the cold was so intense. The want of water dis- 
tressed us much ; at length we found a soldier's wife, who 
had courage enough to fetch us some from the river, an of- 
fice no one else would undertake, as the Americans shot at 
every person who approached it, but out of respect for her 
sex they never molested her. One day General Phillips ac- 
companied my husband, at the risk of their lives, on a visit to 
Ws, and after having witnessed our situation, said to him, * I 
would not for ten thousand guineas come again to this place, 
my heart is almost broken.' In this horrid situation we re- 
mained six days; a cessation of hostilities was now spoken of, 
and eventually took place ; a convention was afterwards 
agreed upon, but one day a message was sent to my husband, 
who had visited me and was reposing in my bed, to attend a 
council of war, where it was proposed to break the conven- 
tion ; but to my great joy, the majority was for adhering to it. 
On the 17th of October, the convention was completed, and 
General Burgoyne and the other generals waited on the 
American commander in chief. My husband sent a message 
to me to come over to him with my children. When I drew 
near the tents, a handsome man approached and met me, 
took my children from the calash, and hugged and kissed 
them, which affected me almost to tears. * You tremble,' said 
he, addressing himself to me, ' but do not be afraid.' * No,* I 
answered, • you seem so kind and tender to my children, it 
inspires me with courage.' He then led me to the tent of 
General Gates, where I found Generals Burgoyne and Phil- 
lips, who were on a friendly footing with the former. Bur- 
goyne said to me * never mind, your sorrows have now an 
end.* I answered him that I should be reprehensible to have 
any cares, as he had none ; and I was pleased to see him on 
such friendly terms with General Gates. All the generals 
remained to dine with him. The same gentleman who re- 
ceived me so kindly, now came and said to me, * you will be 
very much embarrassed to eat with all these gentlemen ; come 
with your children to my tent, where I will prepare for you 
a frugal dinner, and give it with free will.' I said, * you are 
certainly a husband and a father, you have shown me so much 
kindness.' I now found that he was General Schuyler. 
Some days after this we arrived at Albany, where we had so 

v2 



234 burgotne's expedition. 

often wished ourselves; but we did not enter it as we expect- 
ed we should — as victors ! We were received by the g-ood 
General Schuyler, his wife and daughters, not as enemies, but 
kind friends ; and they treated us with the most marked at- 
tention and politeness, as they did General Burgoyne, who 
had caused General Schuyler's beautiful house to be burnt ; 
in fact they behaved like persons of exalted minds, who de- 
termined to bury all recollections of their own injuries in the 
contemplation of our misfortunes. General Burgoyne was 
struck with General Schuyler's generosity, and said to him, 
*you show me great kindness, although I have done you 
much injury.' * That was the fate of war,* replied the brave 
man, * let us say no more about it !' " 

On the 17th of October 1777, on the banks of the Fishkill, 
General Burgoyne and his army surrendered to General 
Gates; delivering up their artillery, arms and stores, and 
pledging themselves not to serve again in America during 
the war. General Wilkinson, who was present, thus describes 
the scene. — ** Early in the morning of the 17th, I visited 
General Burgoyne in his camp, and accompanied him to the 
ground, where his army was to lay down their arms, from 
whence we rode to the bank of the Hudson river, which he 
siu'veyed with attention, and asked me whether it was not 
fordable. * Certanily, sir,' but do you observe the people on 
the opposite shore ?' *Yes,' replied he, *I have seen them 
too long.' He then proposed to be inti'oduced to Genera! 
Gates, and we crossed the Fishkill, and proceeded to head 
quarters. General Burgoyne in front, with his Adjutant-Gene- 
ral Kingston and his aids-de-camp Lord Petersham and Lieu- 
tenant Wilford behind him; then followed Major-General 
Phillips, the Baron Reidesel, and the other general officers 
and their suites, according to rank. General Gates, advised 
of Burgoyne's approach, met him at the head of his camp ; 
Burgoyne in a rich royal uniform, and Gates in a plain blue 
frock; when they had approached nearly within sword's- 
length, they reined up, and halted ; I there named the gen- 
tlemen, and General Burgoyne, raising his hat most graceful- 
ly, said, * The fortune of war. General Gates, has made me 
your prisoner ;' to which the conqueror returned a courtly 
salute, and promptly replied, *I shall always be ready to bear 
testimony, that it has not been through any fatilt of your ex- 



SURRENDER. 235 

cellency.* Major-General Phillips then advanced, and he and 
General Gates saluted, and shook hands with the familiai-ity 
of old acquaintances. The Baron Reidesel, and the other of- 
ficers, were inti-oduced in their turn." 

From Stillwater, the road proceeds along* the western 
shore of the Hudson, through Anthony's Kill and Waterford,* 
as we have before described it, twenty-four miles to Albany, 

* Page 53—59, 



236 KOUTE FROM BUKLlNGTOISr TO BOSTOX. 

BURLINGTON TO BOSTON. 

BURLIKGTOl*^ to 

Williston . o .-.-. = . - 12 

Bolton ..-..--...- 8 20 

Waterbury -.-» 6 26 

3Iontpelier ---«.---.- 12 38 

Williamstown -..-..--- 12 50 

Brookfield - - - . . 8 58 

Randolph --..-.---- 6 64 

Royalton- ». = --»,..- 9 73 

Barnard ...■.----.-- 8 81 

Woodstock = . 8 89 

Hartland- ....--...- 7 96 

Windsor^ .„ = ....-.. 6 102 
Cross Connecticut River by Cornish Bridge 

Cornish ------ 3 105 

Claremont ..-------- 8 113 

Sugar River ..-.-..-. 5 118 

Newport - - 3 121 

Goshen - = - » - 4 125 

Washington .....---- 10 135 

HUlsborough ---.--..- 10 145 

Contocook River 3 148 

Francistown .-.--.-"■-11 159 

Mount Vernon ---. 10 169 

Amherst ------ 5 174 

Dunstable -....-.-.- 14 188 

Cross Nashua River 

New-Hampshire State line - - . - - 5 193 

Tyngsborough .---.-.. 8 201 

Chelmsford .-..-.---. 4 205 

Bellerica .-.,------ 8 213 

Cross Middlesex Canal 

Woburn - 9 222 

Medford - - - - - 7 229 

Re-cross Middlesex Canal 

Charlestown -.--....- 6 235 

Boston .. = .----... 1 236 



UREEK MOUNTAINS. 2o7 



From BuBtiNGTON to Boston. 

Instead of pursuing the usual route up Lake Charaplain, 
a traveller may make an extremely pleasant deviation by 
landing at Burlington, and crossing through the states of 
Vermont and New-Hampshire to Boston. 

He will find the country, immediately on the shore of the 
lake, an alluvial soil ; and from the accounts of the inhabit- 
ants, its surface must be very different now from what it was 
formerly. Frogs have been dug up from a depth of fifteen 
feet ; at first, they were apparently lifeless, but after being 
exposed to the air and sun, became convulsed and tremulous, 
and gradually acquiring more and more the power of volun- 
tary motion, finally hopped away in full possession of health 
and activity. Logs also, and stumps of trees, have been 
dug up here, at various depths, from ten to forty feet ; and 
this, in some instances, where no discernible alluvion existed 
to explain the mystery. About three miles from the court- 
house, and within fifteen rods of Onion river, a man, about 
six years since, while digging a well, found a boat, twelve 
feet below the surface. 

As we ride towards the west, the view is one of great 
beauty. Towards the interior, among other interesting ob- 
jects, the range of the Green Mountains, with its train of 
lofty summits, commencing in the south, as far as the eye 
can reach, declines away northward, until it becomes appa- 
rently blended with the common surface. Among the Green 
Mountains, there are two which rise with lofty grandeur above 
all the rest ; one of them named the Camel's Rump, the Ca- 
mel's Back or the Camel, the other the Mountain of Mans- 
field. The latter of these was proved, by the following ex- 
pedient, some years since, to be higher than the former. A 
hunter, who had ascended to its highest point, put into his 
piece a small ball, and pointing it at the apex of the Camel, 
the ball rolled out. 

From the town of Burlington, the road strikes across into 
the valley of Onion River, along which it courses, through 
Jericho, Bolton, Waterhury, and Middlesex, to Montpelier, 
thirty-eight miles. A small part of this distance, we pass 
through forests, most of which are rendered particularly plea= 



238 WATERS URY — MONTPELJEK. 

sant and shady by the multitude of beautiful and lofty white 
pines of which they are composed. A great part of the tract 
through which our journey lies, is however thinly settled, 
and wears every mark of a late colonization, such as houses 
and fences built of logs, girdled trees, stumps, and fields 
imperfectly cleared. The river is a pretty stream, perfectly 
clear, always winding beautifully along, cheerful in its cur- 
rent, and awakening the most lively impressions of sweetness 
and salubrity. Its borders also are lined with intervals, re- 
markably handsome and fertile. 

The verdure of the numerous and rich meadows which 
border the road, is extremely luxuriant. The forest trees are 
thriving and noble. The hills presenting many handsome 
acclivities, show us flourishing farms, advancing rapidly 
towards a thorough cultivation. Often behind them, and 
often rising immediately from the road, objects invested with 
awful grandeur, are finely contrasted with this smiling scene- 
ry. On the north side, particularly, a long succession of naked 
rocks and stupendous precipices, principally schistose, form 
wild, rugged and magnificent counterparts to the rude moun- 
tains on the eastern continent, as exhibited in plates and de- 
scriptions. On the southern side of the river, the mountains 
are universally covered with forests: even the Camel's Back, 
which at little intervals is visible all along this road, and looks 
down on the regions below with proud sublimity, is covered 
with evergreens to its summit. 

At VFaierbury, Onion river has worn a stupendous passage 
throug-h two mountainous promontories of slate, between 
six hundred and a thousand feet in length. The precipices 
on both sides are lofty ; the perpendicular height of that on 
the south is not less than one hundred and fifty feet. A col- 
lection of huge misshapen rocks has here been tumbled into 
the river; and, when it is at its usual height, completely co- 
vers its bed. The gloominess of this passage, the pile of 
ruins beneath which the river runs, the noise of the torrent, 
and the solemn grandeur of the precipices, form a combina- 
tion of scenery which a Welsh or Highland bard would 
describe with rapture. 

Montpelier is a town situated in a valley at the confluence 
of the two head waters of Onion river. It has about eight 
hundred inhabitants. It is the capital of the state of Ver- 
mont, and contains the state-house, prison, and other public 



BEBLIN — WILHAMSTOWN — BROOKFIEID. 239 

buildings. This place is so secluded, that it seems as if the 
government had sought retirement more than publicity, in 
fixing itself here. It is probable, however, that the choice 
proceeded from a regard to a central position, as this place 
is only ten miles from the middle of the state. 

The road now passes for sixty-four miles to Windsor, on 
the Connecticut river. Berlin^ the first township through 
which we travel, is situated on very high ground, about twen- 
ty miles eastward of the Camel's Back. The surface is a 
succession of gradual slopes and open valleys. The soil is 
good grazing land, and the township is distributed into farms 
recently settled. The inhabitants have built a chm'ch, on an 
eminence about half a mile westwardly from the road. 

Williamstown lies on an elevation, little if at all beneath 
that of Berlin. That part of the township through which we 
travel, is however much more pleasant. The settlements are 
further advanced; the soil is rich; and the inhabitants, by the 
appearance of their farms and buildings, are in prosperous cir- 
cumstances. From the highest ground on this road, there is 
a most magnificent view over the Connecticut valley; termi- 
nated eastward by Moose-hillock, at the distance of between 
thirty and forty miles ; and north-eastward, at the distance of 
about sixty or seventy, by the White Mountains. 

Brookjield lies on the declension of the same hills, and Is 
generally of the same appearance. Tiie soil on our road is 
however less fertile, and the face of the country less plea- 
sant. Soon after entering this townsliip, we come upon 
one of the head waters of the White river ; and descending 
very rapidly, soon arrive at the foot of the mountains. Here 
we enter a naiTow, flat valley, presenting a succession of 
verdant intervals, bordering a clear, prattling stream. The 
hills by which it is limited, are liowever neither fertile 
nor pleasant. At Randolph^ which we reach in six miles, 
there is a small village built along this brook, here swollen 
into a mill-stream. It contains about tliirty buildings, houses, 
stores, mechanics' shops, and, what is always very welcome 
to a traveller, a good inn. 

The village of Royallon consists of about thirty houses, 
surrounding a well-built academy. Few objects are more 
cheerful than this little cluster. Just before reaching it, we 
are presented also with a beautiful expansion, formed by th« 
junction of two branches of the White river. 



2^0 WOODSTOCK — ASCHUTNET. 

There is a road which here strikes off to the left, twenty- 
seven miles, to Dartmouth College. Pursuing' however the 
reg'ular route, we reach in fifteen miles from Royalton the 
town of Woodstock, built at the junction of the two branches 
of the Whierqueechy, It is a neat and cheerful settlement, 
containing- a number of handsome houses, and ornamented 
with intervals on both streams. 

From Woodstock we descend rapidly to the Connecticut 
river at Windsor, a ride of thirteen miles. Before us, a little 
to the right, we see a lofty mountain called Aschutney, which 
rises at a small distance from the river, and is separated from 
it by a plain which may be considered as its base. Its name, 
it is said, signifies the 'three brothers,' being supposed to 
indicate the three principal summits of the mountain. As 
seen in most directions, however, it is a single conical emi- 
nence, with several inferior summits, which are also conical. 
From its whole appearance, there is considerable reason to 
suspect that at some former period it was volcanic. Clouds 
usually envelop the summit of Aschutney for some time 
before a rain, and the shower commonly commences on 
the mountain before it descends on the subjacent country. 
The height has been ascertained to be three thousand tln*ee 
hundred and twenty feet above the tide. 

The geology of the region over which we have been pass- 
ing from Burlington, is simple and grand. About seven miles 
east of the lake, the primitive country begins 5 and the fixed 
rocks, running in immense ledges north-east and south-west, 
often vertical, or highly inclined in their position, and with 
a dip generally to the east, are mica slate, gneiss, clay slate, 
and chlorite slate. Mica slate is far the most abundant. In 
some of these schistose rocks, hornblende prevails; but there 
is no granite in place. Granite, however, in loose rolled 
pieces, some of them weighing many tons, prevails for the 
last forty miles ; there is enough to build several cities : it is 
very handsome, has a fine grain, the feldspar is white, the 
quartz gray, and the mica black, and it is used along the road 
as a building stone, though it appears certain that there are 
no fixed rocks of the kind in this region. These masses of 
granite have every appearance of having been brought down 
from more elevated regions ; for they are observed in deep 
valleys, on the banks and in the beds of water-courses, on 
the decUvities, and even high up on the sides of the moun- 



WINDSOR — DABTMOUTH COLLEGE. 241 

tains. But they are rolled and rounded ; most of them ap- 
proach the globular forni, and all have their angles and edges 
worn away. 

Windsor is a flourishing town, the capital of the county of 
Windsor, and evidently superior to any other in the state of 
Vermont, on the eastern side of the Green Mountains. The 
great body of the town, however, consists of a single street, 
parallel with the river, not far from two miles in length, and 
lying on the plain at the foot of the hiUs. The houses in 
Windsor are generally good, and several of them are built 
in a handsome style. Very few inland towns in New-Eng- 
land appear to equal advantage. The court-house, which 
stands on the north-eastern corner of the upper part of the 
plain, is an ordinary building : the church, situated on its 
declivity, is large and has a good appearance. On the 
plain, the Legislature have stationed their state prison. It 
is a large and rather handsome structure, built of gray gra- 
nite, furnished in the neighbourhood, and extremely well 
fitted for such a purpose : it is very firm, and yet capable of 
being split into pieces of any shape or size that can conveni- 
ently be employed in building. This work cost, it is said, 
thirty-six thousand eight hundred and thirteen dollars, seven- 
ty-eight cents, and is destined for the reception of persons 
guilty of felonies which are not made capital. The scenery 
in and about this town, presents many attractions to the eye 
of the traveller. The rough bank on the opposite side of 
the river, the river itself, the luxuriant interval, the plains, 
the town, the hills, and the magnificent moimtain, form a 
group of interesting objects, on which no eye, capable of 
being delighted with the beauties of nature, can fail to rest 
with peculiar pleasure. 

Sixteen miles above Windsor, on the opposite bank of the 
river, is Dartmouth College, a literary institution of consider- 
able celebrity. It derived its name from WiUiam, eai'l of 
Dartmouth, one of its most considerable benefactors; and was 
founded, in the year 1769, by the vigilant and persevering 
industry of the Rev. Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, formerly a minis- 
ter of Lebanon in Connecticut. Here this gentleman had be- 
fore set up an academy, intended particularly for mission- 
aries, who were to spread the gospel among the western In- 
dians ; and in this school several of the Aborigines were fit- 
ted to enter upon a collegiate education. Several of them 
X 



242 DARTMOUTH COLEE(JE CLAREMOKT. 

were placed in colleges, and received the usual degfrees. Al- 
most all of them however renounced, ultimately, the advan- 
tages which they had acquired ; and returned to the gross- 
ness of savage life. 

The principal collegiate building, which is of wood, is one 
hundred and fifty feet by fifty, and three stories high ; it is 
painted white. Besides thirty-four private rooms for the stu- 
dents, it contains all the public rooms, except those for the 
medical lectures and the chapel. At a small distance from 
the college, southward, stands a chapel, the arched ceiling 
of which, ascending from the four sides, produces the same 
effect as the whispering gallery in the dome of St. Paul's. 
A whisper, uttered in one of the angles with so low a sound 
as not to be audible six feet from the speaker, is very distinct- 
ly heard in the opposite angle. The library contains about 
four thousand volumes. The apparatus of this institution is 
not very extensive, but is competent to the most important 
purposes of instmction. There are two libraries, of about 
two thousand volumes each, belonging to private societies 
among the students. There is a separate building for com- 
mons, but at present none are maintained; the students board 
in the village, and many of them occupy apartments in it. 

From Windsor we cross the Connecticut river into New- 
Hampshire, on a bridge of two arches, each of which is one 
hundred and forty-four feet span. The road leads us through 
the township of Cornish to Claremoni, a village situated on 
Sugar River,- the country is fine and undulating', covered 
with a rich, gravelly loam, converted into the best meadows 
and pastures. The hills are sloping acclivities, crowned with 
elegant summits. The township is chiefly distributed into 
plantations. The houses in many instances are good, and the 
indications of prosperity abundant. Claremont is one of the 
wealthiest districts in this county; and in its soil inferior to very 
few on the river. The country around was, in former times, 
frequently the scene of bloody conflicts with the Indians and 
Canadians ; a short distance below, a kind of fort had been 
erected, where now stands the village of Charhstown ; and 
this was the object of frequent assaults. 

In the year 1747, Captain Stevens, a partisan ofiicer of 
great gallantry, finding this little fortress in a state which ad- 
mitted of its being defended, determined to garrison it. Soon 
after, it was attacked by a large body of Canadians and savj^ 



CHARLESTOWX BELLOWS FALLS. 24S 

ges, who attempted to set it on fire by kindling the fences 
and outworks, and shooting into it a great number of burning 
arrows. This mode of assault the enemy continued through 
two days; but their design was completely frustrated, by 
the activity and prudence of Stevens. The next morning, 
the French commander demanded a parley, and sent an offi- 
cer into the fort, with a proposition that the garrison should 
lay down their arms, and be conveyed to Montreal as prison- 
ers of war ; or, as an alternative, that the two commanders 
should meet and confer on the subject. To the latter pro- 
posal, Stevens agreed. The Frenchman opened the meet- 
ing by declai'ing, that, if Stevens should reject his former 
proposition, or should kill one of his men, he would storm 
the fort, and put the whole garrison to death. To this formi- 
dable declaration, Stevens replied, that it was his duty and 
his determination to defend the fort until he found the 
Frenchman able to execute his threats. The commander 
then told him to go and see whether his men would dare 
to second him. Stevens went back to the fort, and put the 
question to his men, who answered with a single voice, that 
they would fight to the last. This answer he immediately 
announced to the enemy. They had already prepared a 
wheel-carriage, loaded with dry faggots, with which they in- 
tended to set fire to the fort. Upon receiving this answer, 
therefore, the Frenchman ordered some of his men to kindle 
the faggots, and push the machine up to the fort, while the 
rest renewed the attack. But he found himself unable either 
to burn the fort or ten-ify the gaiTison. The assault, how- 
ever, was continued all that day. Sorely mortified with his 
ill success, the Frenchman, the next morning, proposed a 
second cessation of arms. It was granted. He then sent in 
two Indians with a flag, and offered to withdraw, if Stevens 
would sell him some provisions. This Stevens refused to do; 
but offered him five bushels of corn for every captive whom 
he would promise to send him from Canada, leaving hosta- 
ges for the performance of his promise. The Frenchman, in 
a rage, ordered his men to fire a few muskets at the fort, and 
marched off. In this gallant defence, not one of Stevens' men 
was killed, and only two were wounded. Sir Charles 
Knowles, then at Boston, was so well pleased with Stevens' 
conduct, that he sent him an elegant sword. 

On the Connecticut river, twenty miles below, is Bellows 
Falls, a place well worth visiting both for its bold and pic- 



244 AMHEEST— MIDDLESEX CANAL. 

turesque scenery, and for the interesting nature of its mi- 
neralogy and geology. The river is, at this place, very much 
compressed between ledges of rocks, and for nearly a quarter 
of a mile, it is harried on with vast rapidity and tumult and 
roaring. In the whole, it falls fifty feet before it becomes again 
placid. The bridge, which stands immediately over the falls, 
and at the most rapid, that is to say, at the narrowest place, is 
a handsome object. Its foundation is literally a rock, for it is 
erected not only upon the precipices which form the banks, 
but upon the very ledges which interrupt the course of the 
river, and rise calmly out of the turbulent scene that sur- 
rounds them. This is said to have been the earliest bridge 
erected over the Connecticut, and the view of the falls from 
it is very interesting. The water, which for some distance 
above comes rushing over and among very rugged rocks, ar- 
rives in an extremely agitated state at the bridge, under 
which is the grand pass, for the stream is here narrowed in- 
to the width of apparently twenty or thirty feet, and rushes 
through with great rapi(hty. It is all foam ; and both im- 
mediately above and below the bridge, resembles the most 
violent breaking of the waves of the ocean, when dashed up- 
on the rocks by a furious tempest. 

Pursuing however our direct course across the state of 
New Hampshire, we pass through the villages of Hillsborough 
and Francestowriy across a ridge of very high land, and in fif- 
ty-six miles reach Amherst, seated on a plain, through which 
flows the river Souhegan ,• it is a very pretty place, contain- 
ing a church, court-house, jail and printing-office, and the 
township has a population of about eighteen hundred. 

From Amherst, the road leads us in fourteen miles to Dun- 
stable, on the shore of the Merrimac river. Along the valley 
of this stream, we travel for seventeen miles to Chelmsford. 
A short distance below this village, the Middlesex Canal 
leaves the Merrimac, and courses along on the side of the road 
for twenty-four miles, to Medfordy on Mystic River. The wa- 
ter in the canal is thirty feet wide at its surface, twenty feet 
at its bottom, and three feet deep. The Concord or Sudbury 
river crosses the hne of the canal on the summit-level, five 
miles from the junction of the canal with the Merrimac, and 
wholly supplies it with water for locking down each way from 
the summit-level. From tide water to the summit-level is an 
ascent of one hundred and four feet, and from thence to the 



MIDDLESEX CANAL, 245 

Merrimac a descent of thirty-two feet. There are in all twen- 
ty locks, of different lifts, of which the highest is twelve feet. 
These locks are seventy-five feet long- in the clear, ten feet 
wide at the bottom, and eleven feet at the top. Above Med- 
ford is an aqueduct across the Mystic river, of which the 
abutments are one hundred feet apart, and between them 
are three stone piers, each eight feet thick, for supporting 
the aqueduct. The tide flows up the Mystic river above 
this place. The surface of the water in the aqueduct, is ten 
feet above the surface of the water in the river below, at high 
water. The aqueduct consists of a kind of trough, made of 
timber and plank, which has stood a number of years, but is 
now beginning to decay. Over Sym's river is an aqueduct, 
of which the abutments are a hundred and twenty feet apart, 
with three intervening piers. The water in the aqueduct is 
thirty feet higher than the water in the stream below. The 
aqueduct over the Shawshine river is, between the abut- 
ments, one hundred and forty feet. The water in it is thir- 
ty-five feet higher than the surface of the river below. This 
aqueduct has been built twenty years ; it is, like the others 
on this canal, made of wood, and is so much decayed as to 
require temporary props to support it. There are three piers 
between the abutments ; and, between the outside pier and 
the abutment on each side, there is a kind of wooden pier. 
On the interior or river side, of both the abutments, and on 
both sides of the piers, at suitable distances, large horizontal 
timbers are imbedded, which serve to support the lower ends 
of the aqueduct braces ; when these timbers become rotten, 
the stone work will probably fall down. From each end of 
this aqueduct, to the distance of five hundred feet, is ai\ 
embankment nearly thirty-five feet high. 

The receipts of the company, from the canal, are rapidly 
increasing. The income in 1808 was seven thousand dollars, 
in 1809, nine thousand dollars, in 1810, fourteen thousand 
dollars, in 1811, seventeen thousand dollars, in 1816, twenty- 
five thousand dollars. 

From Medford, the next stage, of six miles, brings us to 
Boston, 



s2 



346 BOUTE PROM ALBANY TO BOSTOIST. 

ALBANY TO BOSTON. 

M. M. 

Albany 

Cross Hudson River to 

Greenbush 1 

Union ---- 12 13 

Stephentown 6 19 

Canaan -- T' 26 

Lebanon Springs --- 2 28 

New-York State line 1 29 

Hancock -- "-* ^ ^^ 

Pittsfield 5 35 

Dalton - 6 41 

Peru 6 47 

Worthington 8 55 

Chesterfield 6 61 

Northampton --12 73 

Cross Connecticut River 

Hadley t - - 1 ^^ 

Belchertown 10 84 

W&rc ««••«•••"•••* •' •'O 

Brookfield .-.------- 8 101 

Spencer - ^ 1^8 

Leicester ---- 5 113 

Worcester ---------- 7 120 

Shrewsbury --------- 6 126 

Southborough 10 136 

Framingham 5 141 

Cross Concord River 

Natick 7 148 

Cross Charles River 

Needham ----- 5 153 

Re-cross Charles River 

BrookUne ---------- ^ ^^^ 

Roxbury -..- 3 162 

Boston ----------- 3 165 



GREENBITSH— UBriON— NEW LEBANON. 24? 



From Albany to Boston. 

Another route which a traveller may select, is to continue 
down the Hudson as far as Albany, and then to strike off to 
the eastward, throug-h Massachusetts ; and this route is per- 
haps the more preferable, as he will not lose the opportunity 
of visiting the interesting country at the head of Lake Cham= 
plain, and in the neighbourhood of Saratoga. 

Crossing the Hudson to the village of Greenbush, the road 
passes in a south-eastern direction, through the county of 
Rensselaer, twelve miles, to Union village. Around Green- 
bush, the country is beautiful and fertile, and is divided into 
fine farms, interspersed with houses and outbuildings, whose 
appearance sufficiently indicates the easy circumstances of 
their proprietors. From this plain, we ascend the elevated 
grounds by which it is bordered, and from the acclivity 
are presented with a fine view of the city of Albany, the 
highlands north of it, the handsome country-seats in the 
neighbourhood, the river, and the fine flats by which for 
a great extent it is bordered on both sides. The soil is 
a mixture of sand and clay, replenished everywhere with 
black, friable slate ; and the surface is covered with oak, 
chesnut, pine, &c. This tract is tolerably fertile, and well 
suited to the growth of wheat. In five or six miles from 
the river, the country becomes gradually more hilly, and the 
clay begins to be mixed with loam and gi'avel. Granite and 
limestone are found in considerable quantities, and the fo- 
rests become chiefly oak and chesnut. 

The next stage of fifteen miles, through Stephentown and 
Canaan^ brings us to Lebanon Springs. The beautiful little 
village of Wew Lebanon is formed chiefly of houses erected 
for the accommodation of those who frequent the mineral 
springs ; part of it is in the vale, the rest on the steep ascent 
which forms the first step of the mountain that bounds it. 
Before it, the valley spreads away, extending for several 
miles, finely cultivated, with meadow, wood and farm houses 
mingled together, and its area surrounded on every side by 
lofty hills, whose sides are themselves finely chequered with 
cottages, groyes, and fields covered with the freshest ver^ 



248 lEBANOJf SPRIITGfS. 

dure. At a distance, tufted with wood, is seen the neat vIJ- 
lag-e of the Shakers. 

As the spring- is not very remarkable for the strength of 
its mineral quality, nor for gTeat heat, the principal advan- 
tages of Lebanon seem to arise less from the water, than from 
the softness and purity of the air, the repose and beauty of 
the place, and the exercise which those who visit it are dis- 
posed to take, from the invitation and resource it offers ; 
the scenery and prospects invite us to ramble over its hills ; 
and all around, the country affords pleasant rides, especially 
on horseback. This spring, however, is less the resort of 
company than Saratoga and Ballston : those who are the vic- 
tims of disease, find in their waters more powerful remedies; 
while fashion, which delights more in a crowd, however dull, 
than in repose, natural beauty, and rural resource, prefers to 
fill the formal and listless rooms of Saratoga, rather than be 
amused with the native charms of a spot like this. 

Unlike most mineral waters, the spring at Lebanon issues 
from a high hill ; the water boils up in a space of ten feet 
wide by three and a half deep ; it is perfectly pellucid, so 
that a pin's-head might be seen on the bottom of the spring. 
Gas in abundance issues from among the pebbles and sand, 
and keeps the water in a constant and pleasing agitation. 
The fountain is very copious ; the water discharged amounts 
to eighteen barrels in a minute, and not only supplies the 
baths very copiously, simply by running down the hill to them, 
but in the same manner it feeds several mills, and turns the 
water-wheels with sufficient power. The quantity of water 
is constant, and varies not perceptibly in any season, a 
remark also appUcable to its temperature, wliich is 73° of 
Fahrenheit : this temperature, so near the summer heat, 
makes it a thermal water, and causes a copious cloud of 
condensed vapour to hang over the fountain, whenever the 
air is cold. The water is perfectly tasteless, and without 
smell, very soft, does not curdle soap, is used for all culinaiy 
and domestic purposes, is not avoided by animals, who drink 
at the stream that flows in a rivulet down the hill, and appa- 
rently differs little from very pure mountain water, except 
in its temperature : that of the contiguous springs in the 
same hill is as low as that of any mountain springs, about 50°. 
Dr. Wilham Meade, from a regular process of analysis, infers 
that the Lebanon Spring contains, in two quarts of water — 



THE SHAKERS. 249 

Muriate of lime, 1 grain. 

soda, If do. 

Sulphate of lime, 1^ do. 
Carbonate of lime, | do. 

Total, 5 do. 

The aeriform fluids in two quarts of water, he states thus: 
Azotic gas, (or nitrogen), 13 cubic inches. 
Atmospheric air, - - - 8 do. 

21 

On the side of the New Lebanon basin, opposite to the 
spring, at the distance of two miles and a half, upon the de- 
clivity of the mountain, and near its base, is the Shaker's 
Village^ which, with its green fields and neat houses, is a 
pleasing object in the outline of the picture. The Shakers are 
a religious sect, who have established themselves here, up- 
on a plan rudely resembling the regular monastic institutions 
of Europe. It is an association of men and women, who, on 
entering the society, give up their property to its common 
use, and live together secluded from the rest of the world, and 
devoted to a life of celibacy, labour and religion. They seem 
anxious to make proselytes, and do gain many from among 
the ignorant and weak-minded ; those who marry, however, 
are immediately excluded. On the whole, there seems to 
be but little chance, amid the freedom of the present age, 
and in this country, where every circumstance invites rather 
than discourages social intercourse, that their numbers will 
ever be great. 

Their village, or collection of buildings, is arranged along 
a street of a mile in length. All of them are comfortable, 
and a considerable portion of them are large : they are, al- 
most without an exception painted yellow, and, although 
plain, make a handsome appearance. The utmost neatness 
is conspicuous in their fields, gardens, court-yards, out-houses, 
and even in the road ; not a weed, not a spot of filth, nor 
any nuisance, is suffered to exist. Their wood is cut and piled 
in the most exact order; their fences are perfect ; even their 
stone walls are constructed with great regularity, and of ma- 
terials so massy and so well aiTanged, that unless overthrown 
by force, they may stand for centuries : instead of wooden 



250 THE SHAKEBS. 

posts for their gates, they have pillars of stone, of one solid 
piece; and every thing" bears the impress of labour, vig-ilance 
and skill, with such a share of taste as is consistent with the 
austerities of their sect. Their orchards are beautiful, and 
probably no part of our country presents finer examples of 
agricultural excellence. They are said to possess nearly 
three thousand acres of land, in this vicinity. 

Besides ag-riculture, the Shakers occupy themselves with 
mechanical employments. The productions of their industry 
and skill, sieves, brushes, boxes, pails, and other domestic 
utensils, are everywhere exposed for sale, and are distin- 
guished by excellence of workmanship. Their garden seeds 
are celebrated for goodness, and find a ready market. Their 
females are employed in domestic manufactures and house 
work, and the community is fed and clothed principally by 
its own productions. Their church, a plain but neat building, 
has a court-yard belonging to it, which is a remarkably 
** smooth shaven green." Two paths lead to it from a 
neighbouring house, both paved with marble slabs: by these, 
the men enter at one end of the church, and the women at 
the other. 

Of the exact tenets of this sect, it is rather difficult to ob- 
tain an accurate account. It is said to have been founded 
about the year 1768, by Ann Lee, the wife of an English 
blacksmith. She pretended to be inspired, called herself 
**Anne the word," and instituted a new mode of worship, 
"praising the Lord by dancing." Being prosecuted for 
riotous conduct, she and her followers were thrown into 
prison ; a treatment which caused their emigration. They 
came to America in 1774, and settled in the state of New- 
Hampshire. Anne afterwards removed to the state of New- 
York, where she began to prophecy, declaring that she was 
the second Christ, and that those who followed her should 
have their sins forgiven. About the year 1781, she began a 
progress through various parts of the countiy, particularly of 
New-England, which lasted, we are told, about two years 
and four months. Tiie following year, " having finished the 
work which was given her to do, she was taken out of the 
sight of the believers, in the ordinaiy way of all living, at 
Watervliet, on the eighth day of the ninth month," — in ho- 
nest English, she died. Since the death of the mother, the 
affairs of the society have been under the management of 



THE SHAKERS. 251 

several successive persons, on whom the leading gift in the 
visible administration has descended. 

They have derived their name from their peculiar mode 
of worship, which consists in the most violent dancing. At 
chm'ch, the females are drawn up in ranges on one side, and 
the men on the other. Two singers, from each sex, then 
take their stands at the head of their respective columns. A 
signal being given, the singers commence, and the columns 
get into motion. They gently advance and recede for some 
minutes, when, on a sudden, they reverse fronts, quicken 
their motions, and dance in a familiar manner; suddenly they 
wheel to their former positions, increasing in the violence of 
their actions, as they become warmed by the spirit and ani- 
mated by the singing. By one impulse they now break the 
order in which they stand, and, each column whirling within 
its own limits, they throw their heads, hands and legs, in wild 
disorder, occasionally leaping up, and uttering a loud cry. 
During this time, each individual has chimed in with the 
singers, who have themselves fallen into theu* columns, and 
are all singing with stunning noise ; till, by their violence, 
and by the incessant fury of their dancing, the worshippers 
are exhausted. Some sink on the floor, whilst others are 
scarcely able to get to their seats. There is not, however, the 
same violence at all times ; on some days the scene is con« 
siderably less animated, and of course much more agreeable 
to a visitor. 

The principal tenet of the religion of these people is a total 
non-intercourse between the sexes : consequently, husband 
and wife are disunited as soon as they enter into the society. 
All their domestic arrangements are made with a rigid re- 
gard to this object. Each family house is divided into small 
rooms, large enough for two beds, and each has a wardrobe 
attached to it. There is one kitchen and dining room, com- 
mon to the house ; the latter has two doors on one side, lead- 
ing from the common passage. The house is divided in eve- 
ry story, by a wide entry ; one side of the house, through 
each story, is occupied by the females, the opposite by the 
males ; there are also two pair of stairs, leading to the apart- 
ments on opposite sides of the house ; and the whole is neat- 
ly finished. The tenants of each live as one family ; the wo- 
men cook, wash, make and mend. The men attend to aU the 
farming, mechanical and out-door labour. Unless on some do- 



252 TJIE SHAKERS, 

mestic necessity, the males and females are never seen in the 
opposite sides of the house. In attending; morning and evening 
worship, and when going to and retm-ning from their meals, 
they enter the room at their own doors, eat at their own ta- 
bles, and return on their own sides of the house ; before eat- 
ing they kneel down to grace, each one saying it for himself. 
The principal persons in the sect are the elders, father con- 
fessors, and saints. They enjoin confessions, penances, absolu-. 
lions, &c. The members are frequently honoured by the mi- 
raculous interpositions of the Deity. Indeed they affirm, that 
they do every thing by "a gift," that is, by an immediate in- 
spiration of the Holy Spirit. An account of the apphcation of 
this very rational doctrine, is thus given in the North Ameri- 
can Review. A youth of one of the Shaker settlements, of a 
cheerful, happy spirit, was once asked whether he had his 
liberty, and could do as he pleased. * Certainly,' said the 
youth, (repeating", doubtless, what all are taught to believe,) 
we do whatsoever we have a gift to! On being asked, there- 
fore, what he would do, if he wanted on a fine winter's morn- 
ing to go down and skate on the pond, he replied, * I should 
tell the elder, that I had a gift to go down and skate.' Being 
further asked, whether the elder w^ould permit him ; he an- 
swered, ' certainly, unless he hud a gift that I should not go.' 
But if you still told the elder that you had a gift to go down 
and skate, and you must ? ' \^^hy, then the elder would tell 
me that I had a lying gift, and that he had a gift to beat me, 
if I did not go about my work directly.' 

Immediately on leaving- Lebanon, the road leads up the 
steep ascent of the mountain, which forms the first ridge 
of those hills of wide extent which run in a course of north 
to south, from Vermont and the lakes of Canada, to the Sound 
opposite Long Island. The road itself is a fine turnpike, sur- 
rounded by gi'oves of pine trees, and abounding in delightful 
prospects over the valley we have left, and the distant hills 
as far as the Hudson. The whole ascent is more or less culti- 
vated, the soil still remaining a fine hmestone. 

From the top of this hill, we have a ride over a high coun- 
try, of various elevation, for three miles, until we begin to 
descend the eastern side of the ridge, into the beautiful plain 
of Pittsfield 5 the descent is however moderate, and by no 
means so great as the ascent, this plain appearing to be con- 
siderably higher than that of- Lebanon. About two miles 



riTTSFIELD GREEN MOUITTATNS. 25:> 

h6n^ us into the village, which is a very beautiful one, and 
has the general character of the New-England towns, among 
which we have now entered. The road, everywhere broad, 
perhaps sixty to one hundred feet, in passing through the vil- 
lages is widened to two or three hundred feet, often more; this 
generally composes a tine green area or square, over which 
the track of the road is carried, and the houses extend on 
each side, usually white frame houses, with a distance be- 
tween each ; the houses are always neat, and often elegant, 
as the cheapness of timber in this country, and the habit of 
working, admits of giving them much architectural beauty 
at a small expense. Not only the houses therefore, but the 
barns, stables and offices, are often quite pretty, and min- 
gled as they generally are with a few trees, they give to these 
villages a singularly pleasing appearance. A handsome 
church and school-house are the appendages of them all, and 
the first have invariably fine spires, which mark the approach 
to them from a distance, and are exceedingly pretty. 

Piitsficldy seated on the shore of the Housatonic, is a 
very pleasant, handsome and flourishing town, and has con- 
siderable trade and manufactures. It contains three houses 
for public worship, two for Congregationalists, and one for 
Methodists; a bank, a town house, a female academy, a print 
ing-office, from which is issued a weekly newspaper, and 
several prosperous manufactories. Large numbers of chaises, 
coaches, and wagons are made here. Good maible is found 
in this and several of the neighbouring townships. The Uni- 
ted States have barracks here, sufficient to accommodate two 
thousand men, and an hospital. 

After passing the plain of Pittsfield, which is about three 
miles in extent, we begin to ascend a ridge of hills; the coun- 
try loses in a great degree its neat appearance, and the soil 
is not so fertile, the limestone having changed to rough gra- 
nite or moor stone : the cultivation is not good, and the 
liouses are less neat, being chiefly without paint, which 
gives a dreary appearance to wooden buildings. In this dis- 
trict, very little corn is raised, but, abounding in grass, vast 
quantities of cattle are bred and sent to New- York and Phi- 
ladelphia, where they are sold and fattened. 

We are now properly among the Green JVoods or Moiin- 
taimy the general name given to the whole extent of this 
ridge ; a name no doubt derived from its appearance ; as we 
Y 



254 GREEK MOUNTAINS — CHESTERFIELD— NORTHAMPTON. 

can discern it from the eminences we cross, extending far 
and wide, a rude intermingled scene of hills, clustered and 
interlocking together, with the woods of a remarkably bright 
green hue, arising most probably from their elevation and 
consequent superior moisture. The brightness of the woods 
is in the latter part of summer more discernible, from the 
low grounds, we eveiywhere pass, being almost burnt up ^ 
while among these hills, the vegetation has the appearance 
of being refreshed by perpetual showers. No doubt, how- 
ever, much of their green hue is derived from the vast 
numbers of fir, hemlock, elm and other evergreens, which 
form a great part of their timber ; but even these have a 
far fresher appearance than in the vales below. As we pass 
through the forest, the road and all around us is a thick 
and almost impenetrable arch of fohage, formed by trees of 
the finest size that the forest can afford, and so close as 
often to give a dampness to the air. The principal timber is 
the mountain fir, the hemlock, the spruce, chesnut, beech, 
and oaks of various kinds ; and the underwood or shrubs ai'c 
laurel, shumac, and a variety too great to explain i the hem- 
lock is a beautiful tree ; the lengthened slender ramification 
or extension of its branches, gives to the scenery all that 
wildness which is so remarkable in the pictures of Salvator 
Rosa. 

Descending the Green Mountains, we reach the village of 
Chesterfield, on their eastern ridge, twenty-six miles from 
Pittsfield. The channel of the river Aagawam, which rans 
a short distance from it, ma)" be regarded as a curiosity. Dur- 
ing a long succession of ages, it has been worn down in a 
solid body of rock; the chasm is on both sides neai'ly per- 
pendicular, descending from six to thirty feet in different 
places, and appearing like a vast tiench, dug by hiunan 
hands. Its direction is somewhat winding, but approaches 
so nearly to a straight hne, that it may be traced from the 
bridge for a considerable distance. 

We now enter the Valley of the Connecticut, and in twelve 
miles reach Northampton, on its shore. This is the largest 
inland town in Massachusetts, and may contain four hundred 
houses. A consJdemble number of them are ordinaiy, 
many are good, and not a small proportion are handsome. 
They are however so scattered in the different streets, as to 
make much less impression on the eye than even inferior 



SOUTHAMPTON HADLET. 255 

building's in many other places, where they are presented at 
a sing-le view. None of the public buildings are handsome. 
The stores and shops, built on the side of an irregular square 
in the centre, give the traveller a lively impression of the 
business which is here carried on. 

There is no part of New-England more distinguished for 
the excellence of its habits and principles than this ; a gene- 
ral love of order prevails ; a general submission to the laws 
and magistrates ; a general regularity of life, a general har- 
mony and good neighbourhood; a sober industry and frugal- 
ity ; a general hospitality and charity. Whenever a person 
has had the misfortune to have his house or barn burned, it 
may be considered as having been a standing custom in this 
neighbourhood, for the inhabitants to raise, and in most in- 
stances to finish, a new house or barn for him. This custom 
still substantially prevails, and exists extensively in other 
parts of New-England.* 

Several men have lived here, who were persons of much 
distinction. The Rev. Solomon Stoddard, the second minis- 
ter, possessed probably more influence than any other clergy- 
man in the province, during a period of tlairty years. Here 
he was regarded v/ith a reverence which will scarcely be 
rendered to any other man. The very savages are said to 
have felt towards him a peculiar awe. Once, wlien he was 
riding from Northampton to Hatfield, and passing a place 
called Dewey's Hole, an ambush of savages lined the road. 
It is said that a Frenchman, directing his gun towards him, 
was warned by one of the Indians, who some time before 
had been among the English, not to fire, because ** that 
man was Englishman's God." A similar adventure is said 
to have befallen him, while meditating, in an orchard imme- 
diately behind the church in Deerfield, a sermon which he 
was about to preach. 

Crossing the Connecticut, a short ride brings us to Had- 
ley. The river, immediately above the town, leaving" its 
general course, turns north-west, then, after winding" to tlie 
south again, turns directly east 5 and thus, having wandered 
five miles, encloses, except on the east, a beautiful interval, 
containing between two and three thousand acres. On the 
isthmus of this peninsula lies the principal street, the hand- 

♦ Dwight's Travels, I. 295. 



-at? HADLi;^ INDIA?? IxVVASlO.N. 

somest by nature in New-England. It is a mile in ieng-th, 
running- directly north and south; is sixteen rods in breadth; 
is nearly a perfect level ; is covered, during the fine season, 
with rich verdure ; extends at either end to tlie river, and 
presents everywhere a delig-htful prospect. The modern 
houses on this street are generally good : a considerable 
number however are ancient, and, having been better built 
than a great part of tliose, which were erected throughout 
New-England in early periods, have been pinidently pre- 
served. 

In this town resided, for fifteen or sixteen years, the cele- 
brated regicides, Goffe and Whalley. They came hither in 
the year 1654, and lived in the house of the Rev. Mr. Russel, 
the minister. Whalley died in his house. After his decease, 
Goffe quitted Hadley, went into Connecticut, and afterwards, 
according to tradition, to the neighbourhood of New-York. 
It is said, that having been discovered there, he retired se- 
cretly to the colony of Rhode-Island, where he lived with a 
son of Whalley during the remainder of his life. In the 
course of Philip's war, which involved almost all the Indian 
tribes in New-England, and among others those in the neigh- 
bourhood of Hadlev', the inhabitants thought it proper to ob- 
serve the 1st of September, 1675, as a day of fasting and pray- 
er. While they were in the church, and employed in their 
worship, they were surprised by a band of savages. The 
people instantly betook themselves to their arms, which, ac- 
cording to the custom of the times, they had carried with them 
to the church, and, rushing out of tlie house, attacked their 
invaders. The panic under which they began the conflict was 
so great, and their number was so disproportioned to that of 
their enemies, that they fought doubtfully at first, and in a 
short time began evidently to give way. At this moment, 
an ancient man, with hoary locks, of a most venerable and 
dignified aspect, and in a dress widely differing from that of 
the inhabitants, appeared suddenly at their head, and with 
a firm voice and an example of undaunted resolution, re -ani- 
mated their spirits, led them again to the conflict, and totally 
routed the savages. When the battle vras ended, the stran- 
ger disappeared, and no person knew whence he had come 
or whither he had gone. The relief was so timely, so sudden,, 
so unexpected, and so providential ; the appearance and the 
retreat of him who furnished it were so unaccountable ^ liis 



MOUNT HOLTOK.E. 257 

person was so dignified and commanding-, his resolution so 
superior, and his interference so decisive, that the inhabit- 
ants, without any uncommon exercise of credulity, readily 
believed him to be an ang-el, sent by Heaven for their pre- 
servation. Nor was this opinion seriously controverted, until 
it was discovered, several years afterwards, that Goffe and 
Whalley had been lodg-ed in the house of Mr. Russel. Then 
it was known that their deliverer w^as Goffe; Whalley having 
become superannuated, some time before the event took 
place. 

From Mount HolyokCy on the southern side of this town- 
ship, at the distance of three miles from the church, is seen 
the richest prospect in New-England, and not improbably in 
the United States. The mountain is about one thousand one 
hundred feet above the surface of the river. From this spot, 
the eye is presented with a vast expansion to the south, 
comprehending the southern part of the county of Hamp- 
sliire and a portion of the state of Connecticut. The Middle- 
town Mountains, the Blue Mountains at Southington, both 
at the distance of sixty miles, and the whole extent of the 
Connecticut valley to Middletown, together with the long 
ranges by which it is bordered, appear in full view. To the 
south-west, Mount Tom, a narrow range running in a direct 
line with Mount Holyoke, with its various summits, intercepts 
the prospect, and fm'nishes a fine substitute for more distant 
objects. But the most exquisite sceneiy of the whole land- 
scape is formed by the river, and its extended margin. It 
turns four times to the east and three times to the west, with- 
in twelve miles, and in that distance its course is twenty -four. 
It is generally a quarter of a mile wide; and its banks are beau- 
tifully alternated, with a fringe of shrubs, green lawns, and 
lofty ti'ees. When the eye traces this majestic stream, mean= 
dering with a single course through these delightful fields, 
wandering in one place five miles to gain one, and in another 
four to gain seventy yards; enclosing, almost immediately be- 
neath, an island of twenty acres, exquisite in its form and ver- 
dure, and adorned on the northern end with a beautiful grove; 
when it marks the sprightly towns which rise upon its banks, 
and the numerous cliurches which gem the whole landscape 
in its neighbourhood ; when it explores the lofty forestgj» 
wildly contrasted witii the rich scene of cultivation ; when 
it ascends higher, and observes the perpetually varying and 

¥ 2 



'25S BROOKFIEID WOHCESTEll. 

undulating arches of the hills, and the Green Mountains re- 
ceding" northward beyond the reach of the eye ; when, last 
of all, it rests upon the Monadnoc in the north-east, and in 
the north-west upon Saddle Mountain, each ascending, at 
the distance of fifty miles, in dim and misty grandeur, far 
above all the other objects in view: it will be difficult not to 
say, that all that is g-rand or beautiful in landscape is spread 
before us. 

From Hadley, the road leads us through JBelchertoivn and 
Ware, twenty-seven miles, to Brookjield. The country, after 
leaving the Connecticut valley, is not very fertile, and the 
houses in g'eneral are not very neat or larger as we approach 
Brookfield, however, we descend into a more agreeable dis- 
trict. The road passes on through Spencer and Leicester, 
nineteen miles, to Worcester, over an undulating countiy, and 
is of course very uneven, though it is well made. Almost all 
the hills in the southern half of New-England run from north 
to south ; the roads, therefore, which have an eastern and 
western direction, are very far from being level. From seve- 
ral of these hills, tliere are extensive thougli not any very 
pleasant views : beauty of prospect demands not only ampli« 
tude, but variety. A continued succession of hills and val- 
leys, scarcely distinguishable from eacli other in appearance, 
though less wearisome than the uniformity of a spacious 
plain, is still remote from that exquisite scenery which con- 
stitutes the fine landscape — ^the eye instinctively demands 
something more. 

Around Worcester, the surface of the country is handsome; 
the hills slope more gradually, and are moulded into a great- 
er variety and beauty of form ; the valleys, too, are more 
open, extended and elegant, than in the preceding parts of 
this county. The soil also appears to be richer, and better 
fitted for a variety of vegetation. The forest growth of this 
and all the preceding townships, is oak, chesnut, hickor}^, &c. 
interspersed with white and yellow pine. The town is prin- 
cipally built on a single street, extending from east to west, 
about a mile and a half on the road. It is situated in a vallej^^; 
and contains about one hundred and fifty houses, generally 
well built, surrounded by neat fences, out-houses and gar- 
dens ; frequently handsome, and very rarely small, old or 
unrepau'ed. Few towns in New-England exhibit so uniform 
an appearanceof neatness and taste, or contain so great a 



CAMBRIDGE— HARVARD COLlEGi:, 259 

proportion of good building-s, as Worcester. There is pro- 
bably more wealth in it than in any other which does not 
exceed it in dimensions and population. Its trade, consider- 
ing- its inland position, is extensive and profitable. The 
number of public officers, professional men, merchants and 
mechanics, is proportionably great, and produces a very live- 
ly appearance of activity and business. 

From Worcester, passing over a fine grazing country, six 
miles bring us to Shrewsbury. We pass on the road a beau- 
tiful lake, called Quinsigamond ; about one acre of which is 
comprised within the bounds of Worcester, and the remain- 
der in those of Shrewsbury. This lake is about four miles 
long, and from one hundred rods to a mile broad, and is the 
largest and handsomest piece of water seen from the great 
road in this county. Its form is a crescent. From the high 
ground near Shrewsbury, it furnishes a fine featui'e of the 
landscape, and exhibits to the eye tlie appearance of a noble 
section of a iTiajestic river. 

From Shrewsbury, the road leads us in fifteen miles to 
Framingham, through a country very similar to that we have 
already passed. The soil is rich grazing land, of the first 
quality, rewarding abundantly the toil of the owners, and 
presenting to the eye of the traveller a continued succession 
of the deepest verdure. Great numbers of cattle, of the 
largest size and best quality, are fed on these rich pastures ; 
and the large well-built barns, and good farmers' houses, are 
decisive indications of prosperity. 

The next stage, from Framingham to Watertowriy is througli 
a country more hilly and rough, with a road often stony, and 
the culture generally grass ; but the buildings are neat, and 
bear the marks of approach to a large city, by the superior- 
ity of the houses, which now change from mere farm houses 
to country-seats. 

From Watertown, three miles bring us to Cambridge^ a 
town formerly noted for nothing but the University, and the 
villas of the gentlemen of Boston ; now, however, it has 
become a place of considerable business, and has a large 
population exclusive of that institution. 

Harvard College^ the first erected in British America, was 
begun in the year 1636, by an appropiiation of four hundred 
pounds sterling, made for the purpose by the general court 
of the colony. In 1638, the Reverend John Harvard, of 



260 HARVARD C0LL£6£. 

Charlestown, gave to it one-half of his property, amount- 
ing' to seven hundred and seventy-nine pounds, seventeen 
shillings, and two pence sterling. From this time, it changed 
its first name of a public school to that of a college. In 1650, 
the first charter was gpranted by the general court, which 
constituted a corporation, consisting of the president, five 
fellows, and the treasurer, by the title of president and fel- 
lows of Harvard College. Beside other important powers, 
this body has the superintendence of all the collegiate pro- 
perty. The executive officers are, the president, professors, 
tutors, and librarian. The professorships of divinity, and of 
mathematics and natural pliilosophy, were founded by Mr. 
Thomas HoUis, a merchant of London ; the former in 1722, 
the latter in 1726. The professorship of Hebrew, and other 
oriental languages, was founded by Mr. Thomas Hancock, 
an eminent merchant of Boston, in 1765. The professors 
read lectures to all the students assembled, and give pri- 
vate instruction to the respective classes. Medical lectures 
are also read here by professors, who are respectable phy- 
sicians resident in the vicinity. Partial foundations have 
been laid for professorships of anatomy and surgery, and for 
a professorship of the theory and practice of physic, by the 
late Dr. Ezekiel Hersey, his relict, Mi's. Sarah Hersey, and 
his brother, Mr. Abner Hersey, of Barnstable ; and a profes- 
sorship of ch)niiistry and materia medica, by the late Major 
William Erving. These professorships are called by the 
names of the respective founders. As the funds are insuffi- 
cient to support the lectures, the students who attend them 
are taxed in moderate sums. 

The buildings consist of University Hall, a fine edifice of 
granite, one hundred and forty feet by fifty, and forty-two in 
height, containing a chapel, six lecture-rooms, dining-halls, 
&c. ; Harvard Hall, a brick edifice, one hundred and eight 
feet by forty, containing the Hbrary, philosophical apparatus, 
and mineralogical cabinet ; four other brick edifices, called 
Massachusetts, Hollis, Stoughton, and Holworthy Halls, each 
four stories high, containing rooms for the accommodation of 
students ; Holden Chapel, containing the anatomical muse- 
um, chymical laboratory, and lecture-rooms; and three college 
houses of wood, occupied by students. The hbrary is one of 
the largest in the United States, and contains about twenty- 
eight thousand volumes. The philosophical apparatus also 



HARVAHD COLLEGE— BOSTOIf. 261 

is probably not surpassed by any in the country. The ch}'- 
mical laboratory, anatomical museum, and cabinet of mine- 
rals, are all valuable. The botanic garden comprises seven 
acres, laid out in an ornamental style, and is furnished with 
an interesting" collection of trees, shrubs and plants, both 
native and foreign. 

The first printing-office in New-England was set up in this 
town, at the expense of the Rev. J oseph Glover, a clergy- 
man who died on his passage to America. A Mr. Day was 
the first possessor of the press. The first thing printed in 
New-England was the Freeman's Oath; the second, Pearce's 
New-England Almanac; the third, the New-England Version 
of the Psalms. 

From Cambridge, a ride of three miles, and crossing- West 
Boston Bridge, brings us to the city. 



262 LYNN — NAHANT. 



EXCURSION TO NAHANT. 



Of late years, Nahant has become a bathing place of great 
fashion; and a traveller should not leave Boston without visit- 
ing it. 

The road to it passes through Ckarlestown, and in six miles 
reaches the village of Chelsea. From that place to Lynn, we 
pass for seven miles over a very noble road, made in a direct 
course from Boston, in the most firm and solid manner, the 
hills being cut through, and a causeway carried over large 
bodies of marshy ground, which indeed compose the chief 
part of the distance. 

The town of Lynn lies principally stretched for several 
miles along Lynn bay, exhibiting a village of small farms. 
Each house has near it a small shop, which is detached, and 
about ten or twelve feet square: these are occupied by shoe- 
makers, which is the general occupation of the inhabitants, 
and is carried on to such an extent, that as many as a million 
pairs of shoes, chiefly women's, have been exported hence 
in one year; indeed, the middle and southern states are sup- 
plied in a great measure from this place. A large proportion 
of the Lynn people are Quakers, who have a large meeting- 
house. There are, besides the shoemaking business, manu- 
factures of leather, both of the common kind and morocco 
for making shoes. From these manufactories, the people of 
Lynn are generally very thriving, and live with great neat- 
ness and comfort. 

Opposite to Lynn, a narrow beach or isthmus, not more 
than one hundred yards wide, extends directly into the sea, 
for two miles, at the end of which is a high rocky island ; 
and then a second beach, of about one-fourth of a mile, to 
another similar island, larger in its dimensions. They are 
called the Great and Less Nahant. The two contain about 
six hundred acres of land, a great part of which is high, 
barren rock ; the rest is a good soil, more or less culti- 
vated with Indian corn, but chiefly in grass, affording excel- 
lent sheep pasture. The shores of both islands consist of 
high, rocky promontories, with fine sandy beaches between 
them, and the sea breaks around with a tremendous surf. 



STAHANT, 263 

The ride over the beach, from Lynn to the islands, is one of 
the most delightful imaginable ; when the tide is out being 
as hard as marble, the surf washing the carriage-wheels and 
feet of the horses, and the sea-breeze at all times blowing 
with uncommon freshness. The traveller wiU indeed find 
his ride truly refreshing ; and the island itself is one of the 
pleasantest places he has visited, from the fine air, and no 
less beautiful prospect around him, consisting of a vast area 
of bay and ocean, with a number of islands, rocks and pro- 
montories stretching into it. 

On the southern side of the Great Nahant, there is a curi- 
ous grotto or cavern, called the SwaUow House; the entrance 
of which is about ten feet wide, five high, and seventy long, 
increasing after a few steps to fourteen feet in breadth and 
eighteen or twenty in height. Great numbers of swallows 
inhabit this cave, and hatch their young here ; and it is a 
common opinion, that they repose here through the winter, 
in a torpid state. At the east end, at low tide, in the pools 
among the large rocks, is found the animal flower, or rose 
fish, adhering to small stones, in water four or five feet deep. 
On the north shore is a chasm, thirty feet in depth, called 
the Spouting Horn, into which, at about half tide, the water 
rashes with great violence and a tremendous sound. 



264 BOCTE FROM BOSTON TO BfEW-YOHK. 

BOSTON TO NEW-YORK, 

Cby Steam-Boat. J 

M. W. 
Boston to 

Roxbury .-------- = . 2 

Cross Neponset River 

Dedham - = - , , . 8 10 

Walpole 11 21 

Foxboroug-h 223 

Attleborou^h --.--.- = . 7 30 

Pawtucket River and Falls - . . , 8 38 

Pkovidekce .,.- 4 42 

Trip 2 44 

Johnson g 50 

Cross Patuxent River 

Scituate, (R. I.) .-..--.- 7 57 

Connecticut State line ...... 7 64 

Sterling- --.- = --..-. 4 68 

I'lainfield , . . 4 72 

Jewitt's City ..--...., 7 79 
Cross Quinnebaug- River 

Cross Sketucket River -.-.-- 5 84 

Norwich ..--.-.«.-. 3 87 

Quinnebaug River -..---. 2 89 

Poquetanuck River ---.-.- 4 93 

New-Lokdoit .---.----- 8 101 

l^hames River 4 105 

Connecticut River --13 118 

Faulkner's Islands --16 134 

New-Haven Light-House - ... - 13 147 

New-Havest --- 5 152 

Stratford Point 16 168 

Opposite Norwalk -------15 183 

Greenwich Point 11194 

Entrance of Long- Island Sound - - - IB 210 

Hell Gate - 9 219 

New-York - 7 226 



KOUTE FROM BOSTON TO SfEW-HAVEN. 



265 



DEVIATIONS. 



Boston to New-Haven, 
Chy Springfield and Hartford. J 



M. 



M. 



Boston to 

Roxbury - 2 

Brookline ---------- 3 5 

Needham ,-----.- = - 6 11 

Natick - ... - 5 16 

Framingham .--..-»-- 7 23 

Southborough ----- = --= 5 28 

Shrewsbury .-..10 38 

Worcester ------.--- 6 44 

lieicester --...----- 7 51 

Spencer .--■-.------ 5 56 

Brookfield ...-- = - = -" 7 63 

Cross Chickapee River 

Western -.-----..-- 6 69 

Palmer -.-.. = --.-- 7 76 

East Springfield ----.--- 17 93 

Cross Connecticut River 

West Springfield ---.-'- 1 94 

Massachusetts State line - ^ - - - 5 99 

Suffield ....»-...-= 5 104 

Windsor - - - - - = - « - - - 10 114 

Cross Windsor River 

Habteokd ---------- 7 121 

Berlin ..-..- 10 131 

Meriden ----.------ 7 138 

Cross Quinnipiack River 

WalUngford -..- 5 143 

^ew-Haven --------- 12 155 



266 ROUTE FROM NORWICH TO NEW-YORK:. 

Norwich to New-York, 

Cby land. J 

M. M. 
Norwich to 

New-London -- -- 14 

Riverhead 7 21 

Lyme 9 30 

Cross Connecticut River .... - 2 32 

Saybrook 2 34 

Killingworth - 9 43 

Hammohassett River - 3 46 

Guildford 6 52 

Brandford - . . - 8 60 

New-Haven - .-. 7 67 

Milford ........... 10 77 

Cross Housatonic River 

Stratford 4 81 

Bridgeport .---- 4 85 

Fairfield 4 89 

Sagatuck 5 94 

Norwalk - - 3 97 

Stamford 9 106 

Greenwich --.-..---. 5 111 
Cross Byram River, and enter State of New- 
York 

Rye - - 5 116 

New-Rochelle ......--. 8 124 

Cross Bronx Creek 

West Farms - 7 131 

Cross Haerlem Creek 

Haerlem 4 135 

New-Yoek - 8 143 



AOXBUR¥ — DEDHAM. ^67 



From Boston to New-York. 

From Boston to New- York, various routes may be chosen, 
according to the taste of the traveller. He may either pur- 
sue his journey along" the road which we have passed from 
Albany, through the centre of the state of Massachusetts, to 
Northampton, and thence follow the beautiful valley of the 
Connecticut river to New-Haven. He may take the regular 
route to Providence, and thence either go all the way by water 
to New-York, or continue as far as Norwich, on the river 
Thames, and then join the steam-boat line. Or he may select 
an intermediate road, taking a south-western direction from 
Boston, and pass through the middle of Connecticut, to Hart- 
ford. Either of these routes will aiford a beautiful journey ; 
but perhaps that by Norwich unites the greatest expedition 
and variety. 

Leaving Boston, we pass the neck which connects it to 
the main land ; this neck has been originally, nearly such as 
we have described Nahant, only that it has flat bays on each 
side, instead of the ocean. At the end of the neck, about 
two miles from the centre of Boston, is the town of Roxbury, 
like the rest in the country, built of neat white houses. 

The country soon assumes the character almost universal 
in the state of Massachusetts, of a hard stony soil, abounding 
in rocks, and yielding little but grass, pasturage, some Indian 
corn and rye, but scarcely any wheat. The rocks are very 
abundant, but assume rather a different character, as here 
they are in large round lumps or masses, not stratified, but 
composed altogether of every species and size of pebbles, 
bedded in a hard compact stone, forming what is generally 
called pudding stone. All this country being broken and 
hilly, abounding with wood and pasturage, is thickly inter- 
mingled with the villas of the Boston gentry, some of which 
have fine views over the country below, extending to Boston, 
its harbour, islands, and a considerable expanse of sea. 

Crossing the Neponset river, we enter Dedham, ten miles 
from Boston. It is a neat town, situated pleasantly on a plain, 
eleven miles south-west of the capital. It is compactly built, 
the houses are generally good, and several of them are band- 



26f8 FISHEB AMES — PAWTUCKET. 

some. It is the slui'e town of the county of Norfolk, and con- 
tains one Episcopal and three Congregational churches, a 
court-house and a jail. Its aspect is that of sprighthness apd 
prosperity. Several productive intervals, forming the margin 
of the river, add not a little to its beauty. In Dedham hved 
Fisher Ames, several years a member of the American Con- 
gress. This gentleman was born here, April 9th 1758, o^ re- 
spectable parents, and was educated at Harvard College, 
where he took the degree of A. B. in 1774. He then com- 
menced the study of the law, and soon after he began the 
practice was regarded as an advocate of distinguished talents. 
In 1787, he was chosen a delegate to the convention, sum- 
moned for the purpose of ratifjdng the federal constitution, 
and a member of the house of representatives in the state 
legislature the same year. The following year he was elect- 
ed a representative from the district of Suffolk, to the nation- 
al legislature, and was regularly re-elected during the presi- 
dency of General Washington. In all these situations, parti- 
cularly the last, he distinguished himself by sound wisdom, 
most impressive eloquence, immovable integrity, and exalted 
patriotism. After his speech on the necessity of making ap- 
propriations for carrying into effect the treaty with Great 
Britain, dehvered April 28th, 1796, one of his antagonists ob- 
jected to taking the vote which was to decide the question, 
at that time, because the house was borne away by the power 
of his eloquence. His moral character was still more estima- 
ble. His integrity appeared to be direct, without effort, and 
even without dehberation; it seemed to be straight, because 
it had never been warped ; to dictate what was right, because 
it had not yet learned to do what was wrong. His sense of 
rectitude, both public and personal, was not only exact, but 
delicate and exquisite. His patriotism was glowing. 

From Dedham to Walpole, the country is chiefly a forest, 
dull in its appearance and in some places rough and stony. 
The soil is poor, and the roAd indifferent. There is nothing 
particularly worthy of notice, in the country over which we 
now pass ; the villages of Foxhorough and Aitlehorough have 
nothing to distinguish them, and in eight miles from the latter 
we reach Pawtucket^ a celebrated manufacturing village. It is 
well built, and wears a flourishing aspect. The river is a 
large mill-stream, and just below becomes navigable for boats. 
Directly under the bridge commences a romantic fall, which, 



JPROVIDENCE — BROWN UNIVEIISITY. 2^ 

extending obliquely down the river, furnishes a number of 
excellent mill-seats. Of this advantage the inhabitants have 
availed themselves. There is probably no spot in New-Eng- 
land, of the same extent, in which the same quantity or va- 
riety of manufacturing business is carried on. The whole de- 
scent of the river is said to be fifty feet. The principal fa:ll is 
about thirty. The mass of rocks by which it is produced, is 
thrown together in the wildest Confusion. 

The road from Pawtucket to Providence, four miles, is 
bad, being a deep sand, very heavy, and often stony. 

Prcyvidence is built on the western side of Pawtucket river, 
in two divisions ; one on the eastern and the other on the 
western side of a cove, which is an arm of that river. The 
site of the western division is a slope, gradually rising from 
the cove 5 that of the eastern, the narrow base and the side 
of a lofty hill, which runs between the cove and the river to 
the point of their junction. The two principal streets, on the 
eastern side, pass, one at the bottom, and the other at a little 
distance, along the side of this hill, until they terminate at 
the river. The principal street on the western side is a part 
of the great road towards New-London and Hartford. Those 
on the east are crossed by several others nearly at right an- 
gles. In point of population, it is the first town in Rhode- 
Island, and the third in New-England. It contains a court- 
house, a jail, a market-house, a custom-house, a university, 
a public library, of about two thousand volumes, a Friend's 
boarding-school, an academy, five public schools, seven banks, 
including a branch of the United States bank, and twelve 
houses for public worship ; and several other public build- 
ings. Two of the Congregational, and one of the Baptist 
meeting houses, and the Episcopal church, are among the 
handsomest edifices of the kind in the United States. 

The College stands on the summit of the hill: and is a brick 
building of four stories, one hundred and fifty feet in length, 
and forty-six in breadth. A projection in the centre, of twen- 
ty feet on each side, enlarges the breadth here to eighty-six 
feet, and contains the public rooms. The rest of the build- 
ing consists of rooms and studies designed for the students. 
A second edifice, of nearly the same size, has been erected 
within a few years, to accommodate an additional number of 
students. They overlook every part of the town; the cove, 
the river, and the country beyond it on both sides ; together 

z2 



with extensive tracts to the north and east. The prospect 
is noble ; but is sensibly impaired by the sterility of the soil 
in the western quarter ; and is not a little deficient in fine 
varieties of surface. Its leg-al name is now Brotvn University: 
given it in honour of Nicholas Brown esquire, who has been 
its most liberal benefactor. This seminary possesses a Hbrary 
of about three thousand volumes, a philosophical apparatus, 
and a museum containing a-number of natural and artificial 
curiosities. Both its internal and external concerns are con- 
sidered as prosperous. 

Providence was settled in the year 1636. It was purchas- 
ed by Roger Williams, and by him and several of his friends 
the plantation was begun. In 1640 they adopted a form of go- 
vernment. In 1645 or 1646, the number of men, able to bear 
arms, was about one hundred. They lived in peace with the 
Indians until the great war with the Narrhagansetts, in 1676, 
when these savages invaded the town, and burnt about thirty 
dwelling houses. This seems to have been the only instance 
in which the inhabitants sufiered materially from Indian in- 
cursions. 

From Providence, a journey of twenty miles brings us to 
the boundary between the States of Rhode-Island and Con- 
necticut; the country is a succession of liills and valleys, run- 
ning north and south. The hills are of considerable height, 
and incumbered, as the valleys are also, with a multitude of 
rocks and stones. 

Four miles within the Connecticut line is Sterling, a neat 
little village, built on a hill, from which there is a pleasing 
and extensive prospect over the rich vailey of the Quinne- 
baug, one of the most fertile and beautiful tracts in New- 
England. 

Four miles farther bring us to Plainfieldt a neat village, 
extending along one street. The road then turns southward 
and in seven miles reaches Jewitt's City, a collection of a 
few houses on the eastern bank of the Quinnebaug. Cross- 
ing this stream, we pass for three miles to the Shetuclcet Ri- 
vevy through the township of Lisbon, which is an excellent 
one ; the soil being here, as in most of the region of Quin- 
nebaug, the reddish loam, before mentioned, but less mix- 
ed with clay. Naturally, it is suited to every production of 
the climate ; but it is said, for some time past, to have been 
less favourable to wheat than formerly. 



JSOaWICH ^MOHEGAN INDIANS. 271 

Oui* journey now lies along* the eastern border of this town- 
ship. Here it presents a succession of hills and valleys, on 
which are interspersed fine groves of tall and beautiful trees. 
One of these eminences, named Bundy Hillf is sufficiently 
difficult to make a humane traveller feel for his horses. The 
whole region between Plainfield and Norwich, except the 
little village mentioned above, is a collection of farms, culti- 
vated by inhabitants generally in easy circumstances. Cross- 
ing the Shetucket, the road leads us through a country infe- 
rior both in fertility and beauty to that on its northern shore, 
three miles to Norwich. 

Norwich is at the head of the navigation on the river 
Thames, and has a population of three thousand. It consists of 
three parts, Chelsea Landing, the Town and Bean Hill. Chel- 
sea Landing is situated on the point of land between the She- 
tucket and Yantic, which here unite to form the Thames. 
The site is on the declivity of a hill, high, irregular, and 
rocky. It contains upwards of one hundred and fifty dwell- 
ing houses, four houses of public worship, a post-office, and 
upwards of thirty stores. The Town, two miles north-west, 
is situated in a pleasant vale, partially surrounded by lofty 
hiUs. It contains a handsome square, a court-house, a post- 
office, meeting house, and about two hundred houses and 
stores. Bean Hill is a pleasant settlement, on tlie Hartford 
road, in the western part, chiefly in one street. 

Norwich is a pleasant town, and has considerable trade and 
manufactures. It is favourably situated at the head of naviga- 
tion, and has an extensive back countiy. The commercial 
business is much less than it fonnerly was; about twelve ves- 
sels are owned here, employed chiefly in the coasting trade to 
New- York and elsewhere. The falls of the river afford seats 
for various mills and manufacturing establishments. The 
courts for the county are held alternately at this city and 
New-London. 

. At Norwich, we embark in the steam-boat, and sail down 
the Thames fourteen miles to New-London. On the western 
bank, in the township of Montville, is the reservation of the 
Mohegan Indians^ of whom a small remnant is yet left. They 
are the descendants of those tribes who formerly owed al- 
legiance to the celebrated chief Uncas. The spot where 
this chieftain lived is yet shown, and no place could have 
been pitched on with more felicity. It is a high point of land[, 



^72 IKDIAJfS— VNCAS. 

commanding a noble and extensive view of the Thames, here 
a large river, and of the country on both sides. It was there- 
fore well fitted for preparation against an enemy's approach, 
and furnished every convenience to hostile excursions. At 
the same time it bordered on a never-failing supply of pro- 
visions, furnished by the scale and shell fish, with which both 
the river and the neighbom'ing ocean have ever been richly 
stored. 

Uncas was originally a petty sachem ; a Pequod by birth ; 
a subject and a tributary to Sassucus. When the English 
made war on the Pequods, Uncas was unfriendly to this chief- 
tain, and would have quarrelled with him, had he not been 
kept in awe by the talents and prowess of so formidable a 
warrior. Upon the death of Sassucus, Uncas became the sa- 
chem of the remaining Pequods, as well as of the Mohegans. 
In this character he claimed, perhaps rightfuUy enough, as 
there was no other acknowledged heir, all the territory which 
had been possessed by that tribe ; and had a sufficient share 
of cunning to support his claims witJi very plausible reasons: 
they were therefore generally allowed. From this time he 
became one of the most formidable, and altogether tlie most 
prosperous Indian chief in the southern parts of New-Eng- 
land. To his enemies he was scarcely less formidable than 
Sassucus had been before him. At the head of four or 
five hundred men, he met Miantonomoh, a brave and saga- 
cious chief of the Narrhagansetts, coming to attack him with 
twice tlie number ; and after having in vain challenged him 
to single combat, defeated his ju'my, took him prisoner, and 
put him to death. On this occasion he cut a piece of flesh 
from his shoulder, roasted, and ate it ; and with the true spi- 
rit of a savage, declared, that it was the sweetest meat which 
he had ever tasted in his life. Uncas died at an advanced age, 
in his own house ,• and left his power and his property to his 
children. 

A few years since, a man descended from Uncas came from 
North Carolina, or Tennessee, where he was settled, and ob- 
tained permission of the Connecticut legislature to seD his 
patrimonial share in this tract. This man had received a mili- 
tary commission from the British government ; and it is said, 
was well dressed, well informed, sensible, and gentlemanly 
in his deportment. He is probably the only respectable de- 
scendant of Uncas now Hving, 



NEW-LONDON — fORT TRUMBULL. 273 

New-London is situated on a declivity, upon the western 
side of the Thames. This river is about two-thirds of a mile 
wide, and forms a harbour of great capacity and depth. Ves- 
sels of almost any size find in it sufficient water and good an- 
choring ground. It is also perfectly safe. The centre of the 
town is about three miles from its mouth. The site is pliea- 
sant; but would be handsomer if less encumbered with rocks. 
The principal streets are parallel with the river, and are 
crossed by others nearly at right angles ; but without any 
regularity, either in their distances or their direction. Its 
population is about thirty-five hundred. 

Proceeding down the Thames, we pass Fort Griswold on 
the eastern, and Fort Trumbull on the western shore of the 
river ; both celebrated for one of the most disgraceful acts 
which is recorded in the annals of modern warfare. In the 
year 1781, a body of British troops embarked at Long Isl- 
and, under the command of General Arnold, on the night 
preceding the 6th of September; and having crossed the 
Sound, landed at ten o'clock the next morning, in two de- 
tachments, on the two shores of the Thames, near its mouth. 
The detachment which landed on the Groton shore was com" 
manded by Colonel Eyre ; the other by Arnold himself. Fort 
Trumbull, a small and imperfect work, was evacuated at the 
approach of the British ; the httle garrison stationed in it 
crossing the river to Fort Griswold. Colonel Eyre at the same 
time led on his corps to attack Fort Griswold, defended at 
that time by about one hundred and fifty militia, hastily col- 
lected (some of them without arms) for this purpose. As the 
British drew near the fort, a firing commenced with gi'eatre- 
solution, and was maintained with the utmost spirit, under the 
command of the gallant Colonel Leydard, for a considerable 
time. Eyre was soon wounded, and Major Montgomery, the 
second in command, killed. Major Broomfield, the officer 
next in rank, conducted the remainder of the enterprise. The 
British were severely handled; and though greatly superior in 
numbers, and in every military advantage except bravery, are 
said to have doubted for a time whether to continue or re- 
linquish the assault. The fort, originally imperfect, had been 
neglected, and had materially gone to decay. Still the ac- 
tion lasted forty minutes, when the assailants carried the 
works by the bayonet. The resistance instantly terminated^ 
The British leader, upon entering the fort, asked who com* 



274 FORT ffRISWOLD — ^SAYBBOOK. 

manded. The brave Leydard, who, by his defence, had 
merited the highest respect from ever)'- military, and particu- 
larly from every generous man, answered, " I did command, 
sir; but you do now." As he uttered these words he pre- 
sented the hilt of his sword to the British commander, and 
was instantly run through the body. The Americans had lost 
but five or six men when the British entered the fort. A 
causeless and furious carnage commenced immediately on the 
death of Leydard? and between sixty and seventy Americans 
were killed on the spot, after they had surrendered their 
arms, and ceased from every kind of hostility. 

Three miles below, we reach Long Island Sound, passing 
on the right a promontory on which there is a light-house. 
Our course is now along the southern shore of Connecticut, 
which is indented with numerous bays, running up between 
the projecting headlands. At six miles we pass Black Point, 
and five miles farther Griswold's Point, at tlie mouth of the 
Connecticut river. On the opposite or western promontory is 
the town of Saybrook, which derives its name from Lords Say 
and Brooke, who were the first proprietors of it. It is seat- 
ed on a beautiful plain, at the foot of the hills, and its princi- 
pal street is about one mile in length, lying nearly parallel 
with the Sound. Several of the houses are neat ; a consider- 
able number are ancient and ordinary. The soil of the hills 
and valleys is generally good; and that of the plain excellent, 
easily cultivated, and productive of all the grains and fruits 
of the climate. 

Saybrook has been commonly, but erroneously, considered 
as the most ancient settlement in Connecticut. The first Eu- 
ropean house in the state was built at Hartford, by the Dutch, 
in 1633, and called the Hirse of Good Hope. The second was 
built a few weeks afterwards in Windsor, by WiUiam Holmes 
of Plymouth. On the 29th of October, 1635, a colony from 
Dorchester, in Massachusetts, planted themselves in Windsor. 
Two other colonies, about the same time, began the settle- 
ment of Hartford and Weathersfield. About the middle of 
the following November, a company sent by John Win- 
throp, with arms and other necessaries, came to Saybrook, 
threw up some slight works, and mounted two pieces of 
cannon. In the revolutionary war, a fort of the same dimen- 
sions was erected on the same spot, to prevent British priva- 
teers from entering the river. For this purpose it was per- 



sachem's head — ^NEW-HATEI?. 275 

fectly fitted ; as the channel lies almost under the mouths of 
its cannon. Since the peace of 1783, these works have been 
suffered to decay. A part of the wall of the ancient fort is 
still visible, as are also the ruins of a well, dug" within, to fur- 
nish water for the garrison. 

Passing- Cornfield Point, Duck Island^ and Hammohassett 
Headt we reach in sixteen miles Faulkner's Island, where there 
is a light-house, and opposite to which, on the main land, is 
Sachem's Head. This is a ship harbour, and received this de- 
nomination in the year 1637, from the following fact. Two 
Pequod sachems, after the defeat of that tribe by Captain 
Mason, were taken by the troops under Captain Stone, and 
had their lives spai-ed upon promising to discover tlie place 
to which their countrymen had fled. The English brought 
them to this place, and finding that they obstinately refused 
to give the stipulated information, beheaded them. 

In thirteen miles, passing the Thimble Islands, we reach 
New-Haven hght-house, and proceeding up the bay five 
miles, that city itself. 

The site of New-Haven is a plain at the head of this bay, 
lying between two ranges of hills on the east and west ; and 
limited, partly, on the northern side, by two mountains, call- 
ed the East and West Rock, a spur from the latter, named 
Pine Rock, and another from the former, named MiU Rock, 
which descends in the form of a handsome hill to the north- 
ern skirt of the city. The harbour is well defended from 
winds, but is shallow, and gradually filling up with mud. It 
has about seven feet on the bar at low water, and the com- 
mon tides rise six, and the spring tides seven or eight feet. 
The long wharf is three thousand nine hundred and forty- 
three feet in length, the longest in the United States. In 
1765, it was only twenty rods long, yet there is less water at 
its termination now, than there was at that period. The 
maritime commerce of New-Haven, is greater than that of 
any otlier town in Connecticut. The shipping belonging* to 
this port, in 1821, amounted to ten thousand two hundred 
and fifty-five tons. The population of New-Haven is about 
seven thousand five hundred, but the area it occupies is 
probably as large as that which usually contains a city of six 
times the number of inhabitants in Europe. A considerable 
proportion of the houses have court-yards in front, and gar- 
dens in the rear. The former are ornamented with trees 



276 NEW-HAVEN — TALE COLLEGE. 

and shrubs ; the latter are luxuriantly filled with fruit trees, 
flowers, and culinary vegetables. The beauty and healthful- 
ness of this arrangement need no explanation. The central 
square is open, appropriated to public uses, and is one of the 
most beautiful in the United States. On and around it are 
erected the public buildings, consisting of a state-house, an 
indifferent building of brick, the college edifices, and four 
houses of public worship, two for Congregationalists, very 
elegant buildings, one for Episcopahans, a beautiful gothic 
edifice of stone, and one for Methodists. Besides these, the 
city contains a jail, an alms-house, a custom-house, an aca- 
demy, a library of fifteen hundred volumes, a museum, two 
banks, three insurance offices, six printing-offices, from four 
of which weekly papers are issued, and two other pericecal 
publications. 

New-Haven is one of the most agreeable towns in the 
United States. The streets are sandy, but are kept clean. 
The houses are mostly of wood, two stories high, not expen- 
sive, nor very elegant, yet having an appearance of neatness 
and comfort. Among the houses recently erected, are seve- 
ral handsome edifices of brick and stone. The public square 
and the principal streets are finely ornamented with trees, 
and a great part of the houses have gardens in the rear, fiUed 
with forest trees, giving the city a rural and delightful ap- 
pearance. The burial-ground, in the north-west part of the 
town, is an object of particular interest. It is laid out in 
parallelograms, subdivided into family burying places ; the 
whole ornamented with rows of trees. The monuments are 
nearly all of marble. Great taste is manifested in the whole 
design, and the appearance is solemn and impressive. 

Adjoining the town is Yale College^ one of the most cele- 
brated hterary institutions in the United States. It consists, 
altogether, of eight different buildings, founded and erected 
at different times, but all incorporated under the general 
name of *' The President and Fellows of Yale College.'* 
This name it took originally from Governor Yale, who was 
its first principal donor, and in honour of whom it was named. 
The college under this name was originally founded in 1700, 
at Killingworth, whence it was removed in 1709 to Saybrook, 
and thence to New-Haven in 1716. The first building was 
of wood, which remained tiU 1782, when it was taken down, 
and Connecticut College built on its site- The college bbra- 



YAIE COI.LEG£ — FAIRFIELD. 2r? 

ry contains about seven thousand volumes, and three libraries 
belonging to societies contain together two thousand five 
hundred volumes. The philosophical and the chemical ap- 
paratus are very excellent. A cabinet of minerals was depo- 
sited here in 1811 by George Gibbs, Esq., the original cost 
of which was four thousand pounds sterling 5 the number of 
specimens, ten thousand. The college has another cabinet, 
containing about four thousand specimens. The number of 
undergraduates in 1821 was three hundred and twenty -five, 
medical students seventy-eight, total four hundred and three; 
total number educated, to 1820, three thousand four hundred 
and seventy-eight ; number living, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and eighty-four. 

Leaving New-Haven, and proceeding up the Sound, the 
first prominent object that strikes us is Stratford Pointy and 
six miles beyond, on a little bay, is the town of Fairfield. 
This place, like New-London, was, in the revolutionary war, 
the scene of a disgraceful invasion by a party of the British. 
On the 7th of July, 1776, a body of troops, chiefly tories, 
under General Tryon, formerly governor of New-York, land- 
ed near Fairfield. The women and children, on the alarm, 
generaDy fled, with such few articles as they could carry 
with them ; the men, who were mostly in arms, retired to a 
distance, being unable to make any effectual resistance. 
The invaders then pillaged the town of what they could 
conveniently carry away, robbed the inhabitants of their 
watches, money, and other things, and set fire to every house 
in the place, to the number of sixty, with the church, meet- 
ing-house, school-house, and other public buildings. Se- 
veral women had remained to secure their property, some 
of whom had protections from officers of the British forces, 
who had been prisoners and lodged with them ; others were 
notorious for their aflfection to the British cause : but they 
were all treated alike with brutal insult, and their pro- 
perty consumed with the rest. The old people make this 
event the constant theme of their stories, and say that the 
town has never recovered its losses. However, it is now re- 
built, with as many or more houses than it originally con- 
tained. The inhabitants consist of storekeepers, innkeepers, 
some lawyers, and a few farmers, who are independent enough 
to live in the town, or whose farms closely adjom it. The 
loss sustained by the burning of Fairfield;, was estimated at one 
A a 



278 GHEENWICH POINT— BAHN ISLANDS. 

hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars. During the same 
expedition of Governor Tryon, the towns of Norwalk, Gro- 
ton, and several villages, were also burnt, and New-Haven 
ravaged and laid under contribution. In 1781, the city of 
New-London, as we have mentioned, was burnt by General 
Arnold, although it was his native place — such was the vin- 
dictive spuit shown by this man against his own countr3nnen. 
The whole amount of these losses, as ascertained by the le- 
gislature of Connecticut, was six hundred and forty -seven 
thousand dollars ; and in consideration of the losses of the 
private sufferers, the state granted them five hundred thou- 
sand acres of land on the south side of Lake Erie. 

Seventeen miles beyond Fairfield, is Ch^eenwich Pointy and 
a little distance further the boundary line between Connecti- 
cut and New-York strikes the Sound. In our passage, this 
fine expanse of water now becomes narrower ; the islands 
are more numerous, and the shores on each side are more 
distinctly seen. Of these, nothing can exceed the beauty. 
The various points successively stretching into the bosom of 
the water, with the intervening indentations ; the villages, 
which succeed each other at moderate distances, with their 
white spires, seen over the tops of the trees, or rising in the 
open view; the rich fields, which everywhere form the mar- 
gin ; the hills, gradually ascending as the eye advances into 
the interior, covered with farms and crowned with groves ; 
and the multitude of vessels, skimming the surface in every 
direction — combine altogether as many varieties of beauty, 
serenity and cheerfulness, as can easily be united within the 
same limits. The Sound is replenished with a great variety 
of very fine fish. Among the finny tribes may be reckoned 
the cod, the striped and sea bass, the black fish, the sheep's 
head, the blue fish, the frost fish, the white perch, the plaice, 
the flounder, and many others ; of shell-fish, there are lob- 
sters, crabs, oysters, clams, muscles, &c. 

Beyond Throgmorton's Pointy the Sound becomes narrow, 
very suddenly. Thence to New- York, a succession of hand- 
some villas is seen at Httle distances, on both shores. We 
can hardly imagine a more pleasing series of objects, when 
viewed in connection with their appendages. 

About eight miles before we reach the city. Great and 
Little Bam Islands, with several others, occupy nearly the 
whole breadth of the Soundj leaving but narrow channels 



HELL GATE BROOKLYN NEW-YORK. 279 

between them. Immediately to the north of these islands, 
Haerlem River dischai-ges itself into the East river 5 the bot- 
tom of which is formed by large blocks of granite, some of 
which are visible. Owing to this peculiarity of situation, the 
position of the rocks, the sudden contraction of the Sound, 
and the influx and efflux of the tide into and from Haerlem 
river, a remarkable wliirlpool, called Hell Gate, has been 
formed. Formerly, it was rarely mentioned but in terms of 
exaggeration and terror: in later times, however, it has been 
i found almost harmless. The agitation of the water at half 
1 flood and half ebb, is sufficient to alarm one not familiarized 
to its appeai'ance ; but about high and low water, there is 
but little commotion. At proper times, with a suitable wind 
and a good pilot, vessels pass here without danger; but with- 
out these advantages, they are liable to strike the rocks or 
be thrown upon the shore. 

From Hell Gate, a passage of seven miles conducts us along 
|the margin of New- York Island, laid out for new streets 
the whole distance. On the other shore is Long Island, and 
|the village of Brooklyn, which may be considered as part of 
the city. From, it, a ferry of less than half a mile conveys us 
o New-York. 



THE EJSU. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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fmmimi 



